..Jt 


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47 

NEBRASKA  CxEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 
Volume  7,  Part  3 


irb-7 
veT 
v'.  7 


I 


RrGF  ;L’;rr; 

IAR  25  1919 


A NEW  GENUS  AND  SPECIES  OE  RHINOCEROSi 

Epiaphelops  Vikgasectus. 

FROM  THE  LOWER  MIOCENE  OF  NEBRASKA. 

By  Harold  James  Cook. 

EPIAPHELOPS  VIRGASECTUS. 

Dental  Formula,  M..^,  P.^,  C.^^,  I.,. 

Type,  right  lower  jaw,  and  anterior  portion  of  left  lower  jaw,  No. 

HC265,  collection  of  the  writer. 

t ^ This  genus  of  the  early  Miocene  Rhinocerotidae  is  a somewhat 

unexpected  type  in  the  beds  where  it  occurs.  Certain  fragmentary 
remains  of  this,  or  a closely  allied  form,  have  been  found,  but  noth- 
ing up  to  date  which  seemed  worth  describing.  Among  the  known 
forms  of  the  American  Oligocene,  there  seems  to  be  nothing  strictly 
prophetic  of  it. 

In  the  most  typical  rhinoceros  known  from  the  White  River 
beds,  Caenopus-,  we  already  find  a reduction  in  the  lower  grinding 
dentition  to  six  functional  teeth.  In  C.  platycephaliim^,  we  find  the 
first  lower  premolar  present,  but  vestigeal,  and  of  a variable  charac- 
ter. In  the  type  of  Epiaphelops,  the  first  premolar  is  of  good  size, 
and  is  a functional  grinding  tooth.  Likewise,  while  the  present 
species  is  more  primitive  than  C.  platycephaliim  in  this  respect,  E. 
virgaseetiis  has  the  typical  development  of  the  premolar  cusps,  not 
the  atypical  structure  found  in  platycephaliim.  Therefore,  while 
there  are  several  superficial  similarities  between  these  two,  they  are 
analogies,  and  Epiaphelops  virgaseetiis  has  obviously  descended  from 
a more  primitive  ancestral  stock  than  Caenopus. 

It  may  have  descended  from  some  such  stock  as  Trigonias 
osbornF,  Lucas,  but  comparison  of  these  forms  at  present  appears 
unprofitable.  It  is  perhaps  most  closely  related,  among  known  forms, 


(1)  Epi^ 

aphel 

ops 

virga 

sectus 

’eiri 

'acf)€.Xr]^ 

Near 

smooth 

face 

twig 

cutting 

Notice  of  a new  Genus  of  Rhinoceros  from  the  Lower  Miocene.  Science, 
N.  S.,  Vol.  XXXV.,  No.  893,  pp.  219-220,  Feb.  9,  1912. 

(2)  Cope,  E.  D.,  Am.  Nat.  XIV,  611,  Aug.  1880. 

(3)  Osborn,  H.  F.,  Mem.  Am.  Mus.  Nat.  Hist.  Vol.  I,  Pt.  Ill,  1898. 

(4)  Hatcher,  J.  B.,  Vol.  7,  Part  3 An.  Cam.  Mus.  Vol.  I,  Pt.  HI,  1901. 


to 


22 


NEBRASKA  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 


to  Aphelops  megalodiim,  hence  the  name.  It  is  separated  from  this 
form  by  the  presence  of  a functional  P,,  a more  brachyodont  den- 
tition, and  a heavy  cingulum,  which  is  developed  least  on  the  last 
molar.  Likewise,  the  last  molar  shows  the  greatest  tendency  to  be- 
come hypsodont. 

Epiaphelops  virgascctus  is  somewhat  larger  than  Aphelops  mega- 
lodum.  Additional  good  material,  judging  from  fragmentary  speci- 
mens, will  show  other  characters  by  which  this  form  will  be  more 
clearly  characterized.  It  represents  an  earlier  stage  in  the  approxi- 
mate ancestral  line  of  Aphelops,  and  may  well  be  a migrant,  rather 
than  a direct  descendent  of  any  American  Oligocene  stock. 

This  specimen  was  secured  by  the  writer  during  August,  1911, 
about  eighteen  miles  east  of  Agate,  Nebraska,  in  one  of  the  old  chan- 
nel beds  which  are  probably  a phase  of  the  Upper  Harrison.  How- 
ever they  contain  many  types  also  found  in  the  Lower  Harrison,  (in- 
cluding Moropus,  Dinohyus,  Diceratherium,  etc.,  in  species  found  in 
the  Lower  Harrison),  and  the  stratigraphy  is  such  as  to  make  corre- 
lation difficult.  The  writer  has  also  found  fragments  of  Epiaphelops 
in  the  typical  Lower  Harrison. 

Epiaphelops  virgasectus. 


Measurements  of  teeth.  Type. 

Ml  antero-posterior  diameter 42  m.  m. 

Ml  transverse  diameter 31  m.  m. 

M2  antero-posterior  diameter 44  m.  m. 

Mo  transverse  diameter 31  m.  m. 

Ms  antero-posterior  diameter 52  m.  m. 

Ms  transverse  diameter 31  m.  m. 

Pi  antero-posterior  diameter 17*  m.  m. 

Pi  transverse  diameter 15*  m.  m. 

P2  antero-posterior  diameter 26  m.  m. 

P2  transverse  diameter 21  m.  m. 

Ps  antero-posterior  diameter 32  m.  m. 

Ps  transverse  diameter 23  m.  m. 

P4  antero-posterior  diameter 36  m.  m. 

P4  transverse  diameter 27  m.  m. 

Incisor,  antero-posterior  diameter  at  enamel  base 21  m.  m. 

Incisor,  transverse  diameter  at  enamel  base 34  m.  m. 

Incisor,  length  from  base  of  enamel 96  m.  m. 

*Approximate  measurement. 

Measurements  of  jaw.  Type. 

Depth  of  jaw  at  base  of  Ms 84  m.  m. 

Width  of  jaw  below  base  of  Ms 48  m.  m. 

Depth  of  jaw  below  base  of  P2 64  m.  m. 

Width  of  jaw  below  base  of  P2 37  m.  m. 

Length  of  mandibular  symphasis 75  m.  m. 


Agate,  Nebr.,  Dec.  1911. 
Distributed  June,  1912. 


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NEBRASKA  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 


EPIAPHELOPS  VIRC 


P3  PI  PI 


, PLATE  I. 


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48 


NEBRASKA  GEOl.OGICAL  SURVEY 
Y()r>UMK  7,  Part  4 

A NEW  SPECIES  OE  RHINOCEROS. 

D I C EK  AT  II ER I U M LoO  M I S I . 

FROM  THE  LOWER  MIOCENE  OF  NEBRASKA. 

By  Harold  James  Cook. 
Dicerathcriiim  loomis? , sp.  nov. 


The  type,  No.  HC260,  collection  of  the  writer,  consists  of  a 
portion  of  the  right  upper  maxilla,  containing  P^,  MR  and  M-,  and 
was  found  by  the  writer  in  the  Agate  Spring  Eossil  Quarry,  during 
the  summer  of  1910. 

A number  of  jaw  fragments  and  isolated  teeth  of  this  form  were 
found,  but  the  writer  has  been  of  the  o])inion  that  these  specimens 
represented  portions  of  the  deciduous  dentition  of  some  of  the  known 
species  of  Diceratherium,  so  numerous  in  this  quarry.  The  structure 
of  these  teeth  was  so  aberrant  that  it  was  taken  for  granted  that  they 
were  deciduous  teeth,  and  no  careful  examination  of  the  specimens 
was  made  for  nearly  a year  after  they  were  collected.  But  after 
careful  examinations,  some  of  these  s])ecimens  show  conclusively 
that  the  teeth  present  are  permanent,  not  deciduous,  teeth. 

Loomis^  has  decribed  a single  tooth — or  ]VH,  he  states — 
under  the  name  of  Diceratherium  aberrans,  which  is  somewhat 
parallel  in  development  to  P-^  in  the  present  s])ecies,  but  it  has  not 


Fig.  1.  Key  to  terminology.  M-  right  side,  Diceratherium  cooki,  Peterson. 

(1)  Specific  name  in  honor  of  Prof.  F.  B.  Loomis  of  Amherst  College,  Am- 
herst, Mass. 


(2)  Loomis,  F.  B.,  “Rhinocerotidae  of  the  Lower  Miocene”,  Am.  Jour.  Sci. 
Vol.  XXVI,  Art.  IV,  1908. 


30 


NEBRASKA  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 


been  entirely  clear  to  the  writer  that  this  is  a valid  species,  as  he  has 
seen  deciduous  teeth  of  D.  cooki^  in  position  which  closely  paralleled 
it.  Still — if  the  type  of  D.  abcrrans  is  a permanent  tooth — it  could  be 
P-^,  instead  of  a molar,  in  which  case  it  would  indicate  a second  species 
closely  paralleling  D.  loomisi.  Comparing  the  type  of  D.  aberrans  with 
P-^  of  the  present  species,  it  is  to  he  noted  that  the  antero-posterior  and 
the  transverse  diameters  of  loomisi  are  about  equal,  while  in  aberrans, 
the  antero-posterior  diameter  considerably  exceeds  the  transverse,  and 
the  latter  is  somewhat  larger. 

D.  loomisi  is  small,  about  the  size  of  D.  schiffi,  but  with  very  dif- 
ferent dentition.  The  teeth  are  hrachyodont,  with  rather  heavy, 
broad  roots.  The  crowns  of  the  molars  are  comjiressed,  much  as  D. 
schiffi  but  the  external  perpendicular  ridge  of  the  paracone  is  more 
prominently  developed  than  in  schiffi,  both  actually  and  in  relation  to 
the  parastyle.  In  fact,  this  external  ridge  is  unusually  well  developed 
in  MC  and  M-.  The  hypocone  in  and  M-  is  relatively  small,  and 
the  crochet  is  unusually  developed,  touching,  and  sometimes  uniting 
with,  a well  developed  crista.  The  protoconule  is  moderately  de- 
veloped. But  in  P^  we  find  a remarkable  structure. 

Both  protoloph  and  metaloph  are  well  developed,  and  of  about 
equal  size,  as  in  D.  aberrans.  In  describing  D.  abcrrans,  Loomis 
calls  the  type,  “either  the  first  or  second  upper  right-hand  molar”. 
Either  his  drawing  of  the  type  is  inverted  in  printing,  or  else  the 
tooth  is  a left,  instead  of  a right,  upper.  If  inverted,  the  structure  is 
quite  similar  to  that  found  in  P^  of  the  present  species.  But  if  this 
is  a left  tooth,  then  there  is  a great  difference.  Loomis  states  that 
“the  crochet  is  developed  to  enormous  size”  in  aberrans. 

This  is  true  of  P-^,  MC  and  M^,  in  loomisi,  but  unless  the  draw- 
ing of  aberrans  is  inverted,  it  is  the  protoconule  which  is  so  strongly 
developed  in  that  type,  instead  of  the  crochet.  The  protoconule  is 
moderately  developed  in  the  molars  of  the  present  species.  The 
crista  is  unusually  well  developed,  but  not  as  in  aberrans. 

A large  accessory  cusp,  or  loph,  rises  just  posterior  to  the  crista, 
and  extends  to  the  internal  cingulum,  thus  adding  greatly  to  the 
triturating  complexity  of  the  tooth.  There  is  no  external  cingulum. 
The  internal  cingulum  is  quite  strongly  developed,  but  is  interrupted 
by  the  protoloph  and  metaloph,  and  between  these  two  has  a tendency 
to  form  minute  accessory  cusps. 

(3)  Peterson,  O.  A.,  Ann.  Cam.  Miis.  Vol.  IV  No.  1. 

Vol.  7,  Part  4. 


DTCERATIIERIUM  LOOMISI 


31 


Specimens  are  present  in  all  stages  of  wear,  but  unfortunately 
no  skulls  of  this  rather  rare  type  have  so  far  come  to  light. 

Another  peculiar  feature  is  the  location  of  the  infra-orhital 
foramen.  This  is  situated  directly  above  instead  of  V-\  as  is 
usual  in  the  Diccratlicrcs.  In  some  instances  among  contemporary 
forms,  this  foramen  opens  above  P“,  and  this  is  true  in  Metacaenopus 
egregiiis.  This  led  the  writer  to  wonder  if  there  might  not  he  a mis- 
take in  the  identification  of  the  teeth.  But  the  extreme  transverse 


Fig.  2.  Premolar  4 and  molars  1 and  2,  right  upper,  of  Diceratherium  loomisi, 
natural  size.  No.  HC2G0.  Type. 


Fig.  3.  Premolar  4 and  molar  1,  right  upper,  referred  to  Diceratherium  loomisi, 
natural  size.  No.  HC2G1. 

compression  of  the  posterior  half  of  the  last  tooth  in  the  series — in  the 
type — its  rather  sharp  inward  turn,  the  position  of  the  tooth  in  rela- 
tion to  the  beginning  of  the  zygomatic  arch,  and  the  whole  character 
of  the  tooth,  would  stamp  it  as  M-.  The  next  tooth  forward  is  just 
what  one  would  expect  in  M^,  to  go  with  this  M-,  but  of  course  P-^ 


32 


NEBRASKA  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 


is  sometimes  completely  molariform.  This  position  of  the  infra- 
orbital foramen  would  seem  to  indicate  a very  brachycephalic  type 
of  sknll,  and  a rather  flat  one. 

Diceratherium  loo  mi  si. 


Measurements  of  type. 

antero-posterior  diameter 24  m.  m. 

transverse  diameter 26  m.  m. 

Ml  antero-posterior  diameter 32  m.  m. 

Ml  transverse  diameter 27  m.  m. 

M2  antero-posterior  diameter 35  m.  m. 

M2  transverse  diameter 31  m.  m. 

Height  of  infra-orbital  foramen  above  base  of  Pi 24  m.  m. 

Same,  in  D.  cooki,  (referred  specimen,  not  type) 32  m.  m. 


(The  last  measurement  above  was  taken  from  an  excellently  preserved 
specimen,  which  agrees  closely  to  the  type  of  D.  cooki,  in  all  measurements). 

Agate,  Nebraska,  Dec.,  1911. 


Distributed,  August,  1912. 


b~6“7 

/V2-7 

V,  7 

Vi.b' 

MAR  25  ’ 

49 

NEBRASKA  GE( )L( )GICA[.  SURVEY 
\4)lume  7,  Part  5 

FAUNAL  LISTS  OF  THE  TERTIARY  FORMATIONS  OF 
SIOUX  COUNTY,  NEBRASKA. 

By  Harold  James  Cook. 

Introduction. 

The  object  of  the  faunal  lists  of  the  fossil  Tertiary  mammals 
here  given  is  to  bring  up  to  date  a classified  list  of  the  genera  and 
species,  found  in  the  various  Tertiary  formations  of  Sioux  County, 
Nebraska.  The  region  in  and  about  Sioux  County  is  one  which 
abounds  in  fossil  remains  of  prehistoric  animals,  and  has  long  been  a 
great  collecting  ground.  But  many  recent  discoveries  have  added  large- 
ly to  the  known  faunae  from  this  vicinity,  and  while  any  such  list  must 
necessarily  be  provisional  and  incomplete,  it  is  hoped  that  these  lists 
may  prove  a useful  reference  to  students  of  fossil  mammals,  and  to 
those  interested  in  knowing  something  of  the  range  of  life  forms 
which  existed  in  this  region  during  ages  long  past. 

The  writer  is  greatly  indebted  to  the  work  of  Dr.  W.  D.  Mat- 
thew, in  his  “Faunal  Lists  of  the  Tertiary  Mammalia  of  the  West.” 
(Bull.  361,  U.  S.  G.  S.)  in  compiling  this  work,  especially  for  the 
Oligocene  lists,  which  are  virtually  as  he  gives  them. 

While  all  the  forms  here  listed  may  not  have  been  actually  found 
in  Sioux  County,  all  have  been  found  in  or  adjoining  this  county, 
and  all  are  from  formations  which  occur  in  Sioux  County.  Owing 
to  the  inaccurate  data  kept  by  early  collectors  as  to  precise  localities 
and  levels  of  the  occurrence  of  any  fossil,  it  is  very  difficult  to  place 
many  species  accurately,  in  these  respects. 

Other  formations  than  those  herein  listed  occur  in  Sioux  County, 
but  present  knowledge  of  their  faunae  is  meagre  and  scarcely  worth 
recording. 


FAUNAL  LISTS  OF  THE  TERTIARY  FORMATION 

LOWER  OLIGOCENE 


Hyaenodon  sp. 


Chadron  (White  River  Group) 

TITANOTHERIUM  ZONE 
Carnivora  (Creodonta) 
Hyaenodontidae 


34 


XEBR.\SKA  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 


Carnivora  (Fissipedia) 
Canidae. 


Daphoeniis  dodgci,  Scott. 

“ . sp. 

Cynodictis  sp. 

Cynodon  sp. 

Felidae. 

Dinictis  fortis,  Adams, 
sp. 

Perissodactyla 


Hyracodon  sp. 
Metamynodon  sp. 
Trigonias  osborni,  Lucas 


Hyracodontidae 

Amynodontidae 

Rhinocerotidae 


LeptaceratJicriiim  trigonogiim,  Osborn  and  Wortman 
Cacnopus  (Subhyracodon)  sp.  div. 

“ cf.  platycephalus,  Osborn  and  Wortman 
miti,  Cope 

Lophiodontidae 
Colodon  (Mesatapinis)  occidentalis,  Leidy 

Equidae 

Mesohippus  proteiilophiis,  Osborn 

“ Jiypostyliis 

“ celer,  ^larsh 

Titanotheridae  (Brontotheridae) 
Titaiiotheriiim  proiiti,  Leidy 

‘‘  h el 0 cents,  Cope 

“ ingens,  Marsh 

Megacerops  dispar,  ^larsh 

“ tichoceras,  Scott  and  Osborn 
robiistiis.  Marsh 
brachycephaliis,  Osborn 
bicorniifiis,  Osborn 
“ marsJii,  Osborn 

AUops  serotinus.  Marsh 
crassicornis,  “ 

“ ampins  “ 

Symbordon  montaniis.  Marsh 


C.r>'  I 


V 


FAUNAL  LIST,  TERTIARY  FORMATION 


35 


5o7 
V,  7 


^ v> 


Brontotherium  ramosum,  Osborn 
gigas,  Marsh 
ciirtum,  “ 


dolichoceras,  Scott  and  Osborn 
platycerus,  “ “ “ 

leidyi,  Osborn 

Artiodactyla 

Kntelodontidae 

Entelodon  crassiim,  Marsh 
sp.  div. 


Perchoerus  sp. 


Tagassuidae 


Leptochoeridae 
Stibarns  montaniis,  Matthew 


Anthracotheridae 
Ancodon  americamts,  Leidy 
f A nthracotherium  sj) . 

Agriochoeridae  (Oreodontidae) 
Merycoidodon  (Orcodon)  hybridits,  Leidy 
affinis,  Leidy 
Agriochoerus,  sp. 


Hypertragulidae 

Leptomeryx  sp.  div. 

Heteronieryx  dispar,  Matthew 


MIDDLE  OLiaOCENE 
Brule  (Lower  part)  (White  River  Group) 

OREODON  ZONE. 

Marsupialia 

P eratherium  fugax,  Cope 

Carnivora  (Creodonta) 
Hyaenodontidae 
Hyaenodon  horridiis,  Leidy 
cruentus,  “ 
criicians,  “ 

paucidens,  Osborn  and  Wortman 
leptocephaliis,  Scott  and  Osborn 
must  el  inns,  Scott 

Carnivora  (Fissipedia) 

Canidae 


36 


NEBRASKA  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 


Daphoenus  vitas,  Leidy 

“ hartshornianiis,  Cope 

“ f cl  inns,  Scott 

“ ncbrascensis,  Hatcher 

“ in  flatus,  Hatcher 

Cynodictis  grcgarius,  Cope 
Cyiwdictis  lippincottianus.  Cope 

Mustelidae 


fOligobunis  sp. 

Felidae 

Dinictis  felina,  Leidy 
“ sqiialidens.  Cope 

“ paucidcns,  Riggs 

Hoplophoneus  primaevus,  Leidy 
“ occidentalis,  “ 

“ oreodontis.  Cope 

“ sp.  (Transitional  to  Eusmilus) 

Insectivora 
Erinaceidae 

Protcrix  loomisi,  Matthew 

Leptictidae 

Lcptictis  haydcni,  Leidy 
Ictops  dakotcnsis,  Leidy 
“ buUatus,  Matthew 
“ porcinus,  Leidy 

Soricidae 

Protosorcx  crassus,  Scott 

Rodent:  A 
Castoridae 

Eutypomys  thomsoni,  Matthew 

Ischyromydae 

Ischyromys  typus,  Leidy 

Muridae 

Eumys  clegans,  Leidy 

Leporidae 

Palacolagas  haydcni,  Leidy 
“ turgidus,  Cope 


Perissodactyla 

Hyracodontidae 

Hyracodon  ncbrascensis,  Leidy 

“ major,  Scott  and  Osborn 

Amynodontidae 


PAUNAL  LIST,  TERTIARY  FORMATION 


37 


Metaniynodon  plaiiifroiis,  Scott  and  Osborn 

Rhinocerotidae 
Cacnopiis  occidcntalis,  Leidy 
“ CO  pel,  Osborn 
“ simplicidcns,  Cope 

Lcptaccratherium  trigonodum,  Osborn  and  Wortman 
“ Hyracodon’  planiccps,  Scott  and  Osborn 

Lophiodontidae 

Colodon  procuspidatiis,  Osborn  and  Wortman 
“ dakotensis,  “ “ “ 

“ lougipes, 

Tapiridae 

Protapiriis  simplex,  Wortman  and  Earle 

Equidae 

Mesohippus  bairdii,  Leidy 

“ ohliquidens,  Osborn 


Artiodactyla 

Entelodontidae 


Entelodon  mortoni,  Leidy 
“ ingens,  Leidy 
“ crassiis.  Marsh 

Tagassuidae 

Perchoerns  probus,  Leidy 
“ nanus.  Marsh 

Anthracotheridae 
Anthracotherium  curtum.  Marsh 
Ancodon  rostratus,  Scott 


Leptochoeridae 

Leptochoerus  spectabilis,  Leidy 
“ gracilis.  Marsh 

Stibarus  quadric uspis,  Hatcher 

Ag-riochoeridae 

Agriochoerus  antiquus,  Leidy 

“ latifrons,  “ 

Merycoidodon  culbertsoni,  “ 

“ gracilis  '' 

cf.  bullatiis,  “ 

Leptauchenia  sp. 

Hypertragulidae 
Hypertragulus  calcaratus.  Cope 
sp.  div. 


38 


NEBRASKA  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 


Leptomeryx  sp.  div. 

Hypisodits  minimus,  Cope 

Camelidae 

Poebrotherium  wilsoni,  Leidy 
“ ' labiatum,  Cope 

“ eximiiim,  Hay 

Paratylopiis  primacvus,  Matthew 

UPPER  OLIGOCENE 
Brule  (Upper  part)  (White  River  Group) 

PROTOCERAS  AND  LEPTAUCHENIA  ZONES. 
Carnivora  (Fissipedia) 

Canidae 

Cynodictis  temnodon,  Wortman  and  Alattbew 

Felidae 

Dinictis  bombifrons,  Adams 
Hoplophoneus  insolens,  “ 

Eusmihts  dakotensis,  Hatcher 

Rodentia 

Castoridae 

Steneofiber  nebrascensis,  Leidy 

Perissodactyla 

Hyracodontidae 

Hyracodon  sp.  div. 

Rhinocerotidae 
Caenopus  tridactylus,  Osborn 

playtyccphaliis,  Osborn  and  \\Artman 
Tapiridae 

Protapinis  obliquidens,  Wortman  and  Farl 
“ valid  us,  Hatcher 

Equidae 

Mesohippus  intermedins,  Osborn  and  Wortman 
meteulophus,  Osborn 
“ bracliystyhis,  Osborn 
Miohippus  valid  us,  Osborn 
gidleyi,  ^ 
crassiciispis,  Osborn 

Artiodactyla 

Entelodontidae 


FAUNAL  LIST,  TERTIARY  FORMATION 


39 


Entelodon  cf.  ingcns,  Leidy 
“ fcrassus,  Marsh 
“ bothrodon,  “ 

" sp. 

Tagassuidae 

Perchocrus  rohustus,  Marsh 
“ platyops,  Cope 

Leptochoeridae 


Leptochoerus,  sp. 

Anthracotheridae 

Anthracothcrium  karense,  Osborn  and  Wortman 
Ancodon  brachyrhynchns,  “ 

Agriochoeridae 

Agriochoents  major,  Leidy 

“ gaiidryi,  Osborn  and  Wortman 

“ migraiis,  Marsh 

Eporcodon  ( fEiicrotophiis)  major,  Leidy 
Eucrotophus  jacksoni,  Leidy 
Leptauchenia  sp. 

Hypertragnlidae 


Leptomcryx,  sp.  div. 
Protoceras  ccler.  Marsh 
“ comptiis.  Marsh 
“ nastus,  “ 
Galops  cristatiis,  Marsh 
“ consors,  “ 


Camelidae 

Pseudolobis  dakotcnsis,  Matthew 


BASAL  MIOCENE 

Monroe  Creek  Beds 

Carnivora 

Canidae 

Nothocyon  gregorii,  Matthew 
cf.  lemur.  Cope 
Mesocyon,  sp. 

Rodentia 

Castoridae 


Euhapsis  platyceps,  Peterson 


40 


NEBRASKA  GEOLOGICAL  SL^RVEY 


Perissodactyla 

Rliinocerotidae 


Diceratherium  sp. 


Eqiiidae 


fParahippus  sp. 

Artiodactyla 

Agriochoeridae 

Mcsorcodoii  mcgalodon,  Peterson 
Pvomerycochocriis  carrikcri,  Peterson 
PJicnacocochts  typiis,  Peterson 
Lepfaiichcuia,  sp. 


LOWER  MIOCENE 
Lower  Harrison 

Carniyora 


SyXDYOCHRAS  ZOXE 
Canidae 

Dapliocnodon  siipiirbiis,  Peterson 
“ periculosus,  Cook 

Nothocyon  annectcns,  Peterson 
“ sp. 

Tcmnocyon  Venator,  Cook 
“ percussor,  “ 

Alnstelidae 

Paroligobiinis  simplicidens,  Peterson 
Oligobiinis  cf.  lepidus,  Matthew 

Rodentia 

Castoridae 

Stcncofibcr  fossor,  Peterson 
“ barboiiri,  “ 

“ sp. 

Geomydae 

Entoptycliiis  sp. 

Leporidae 

Lepus  sp. 

Perissodactyla 

Rliinocerotidae 

Diceratherium  cooki,  Peterson 

niobrarense,  Peterson 
arikarense,  Barbour^ 
petersoni,  Loomis 
“ schiffi 


FAUNA!.  LIST,  TFRTIAKV  FORMATION 


41 


“ aberrausr 

“ loomisi,  Cook 

Metacaenopus  cgrcgius,  Cook 
? “ stigcri,  Loomis 

Chalicotheridae 

Moropiis  fclatus,  Marsh 
“ cooki,  Barbour 
“ pctersoni,  HollancL 
“ parvus,  Barbour 

Equidae 

Parahippus,  aff.  crenidens,  Scott 
“ sp. 

“ sp. 

Foot  Note. 

1.  It  is  not  entirely  clear  that  this  is  a valid  species,  and  distinct  from  D. 
cooki,  Peterson.  Careful  comparative  studies  are  necessary  to  clear  this  up. 

2.  Additional  material  is  necessary  to  demonstrate  the  validity  of  this 
species. 

3.  The  relationship  of  M.  pctersoni  and  M.  Parvus  is  not  clear.  They  are 
probably  the  same  species,  in  which  case  pctersoni  would  have  priority.  Here 
again  we  must  wait  further  evidence.  There  is  either  great  variation  in  a few 
species,  or  else  there  are  several  species  of  Moropus  in  the  Lower  Harrison. 


Artiodactyla 
Entelodontidae 
Dinohyus  hollandi,  Peterson 
Entelodon,  sp. 

Tagassuidae 

Desmathyus  siouxcnsis,  Peterson 


Agriochoeridae 
Pr ornery cochoerus  vautasselensis,  Peterson 
fMerychyus  harrisouensis 
? “ cf.  clegans,  Leidy 

“ sp. 
fMesoreodon  sp. 


Camelidae 

Stenomyliis  gracelis,  Peterson 
“ hitchcocki,  Loomis 
“ crassipes,  “ 
Oxydactylus  campestris,  Cook 


sp. 


Hypertragulidae 
Syndyoceras  cooki,  Barbour 


42 


NEBRASKA  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 


LOWER  MIOCENE  (Late  Phase) 
Upper  Harrison 

MERY  COCHOERUS  ZONE 
Carnivora 
Canidae 

Nothocyon  sp. 

Cynodesmus  thofnsoni,  Matthew 
Borocyon  rohustnm,  Peterson 

Mustelidae 

Aelurocyon  brevifaces,  Peterson 

Rodentia 

Ajilodontiidae 

Meniscomys  sp. 

Mylaganlidae 

Mylagaulid,  gen.  indet. 

Perissodactyla 

Rhinocerotidae 

Diceratherimn  sp. 

EpaipJiclops  virgcisectits,  Cook 

Chalicotheridae 

Moropiis  felatiis,  Marsh^ 

Foot  Note. 


1.  Recent  discoveries  by  the  writer  would  seem  to  indicate  that  the 
original  Marsh  type  of  Moropus  elatits  is  from  the  Upper  Harrison. 

Parahippus  nebrascensis,  Peterson 

“ “ tyleri,  Loomis 

? “ “ sp. 

Proboscidea 


fGoniphotheriiim  conodon,  Cook 


Dinohyus,  sp 
Desmathyiis  sp. 


Artiodactyla 

Entelodontidae 

Tagassuidae 


_ “ cf.  subacquans 
Pediohyns  ferns,  Loomis 

Agriochoeridae 

Merycochoerits,  sp 
Merychyns  minimus,  Peterson 


Camelidae 


FAUNAL  LIST,  TERTIARY  FORMATION 


43 


Oxydactyhis  longipes,  Peterson 

“ brachyodontus,  Peterson 

“ longirostris,  Peterson 

“ hilli,  Loomis 

“ gihhi,  Loomis 

Steriomylus,  sp 
Protomeryx  leonardi,  Loomis 

“ fcedrensis,  Matthew 

Merycodontinae 
Blastomeryx  olcotti,  Matthew 

MIDDLE  MIOCENE 
Sheep  Creek  Beds 

Carnivora 
Canidae 

indesc. 

Perissodactyla 

Equidae 
severiis,  Cope 
paniensis,  Cope 
isoncsus,  Cope 
sejunctus,  Cope 
indesc. 

Artiodactyla 
Camelidae 

Protolabis  angustidens,  Cope 
Procamelus  cf.  fissidens,  Cope 
Alticameliis  leptocolon,  Matthew 

Cervidae  (Palaeomerycinae) 

Palaeomeryx  sp. 

Blastomeryx  ? gemmifer,  Cope. 

LOWER  PLIOCENE 

Snake  Creek  Beds 

NEOTRAGOCERAS  ZONE 
Carnivora 
Canidae 

Amphicyon  amnicola,  Matthew  and  Cook 
“ sp.  indet. 


Amphicyon 
Cynodesmns  sp. 

TAphelops  sp. 

Mery  chip  pus  cf. 
“ cf. 

“ cf. 

“ cf. 


44 


NEBRASKA  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 


Aelurodon  haydcni  validiis,  Matthew  and  Cook 
“ saeviis  scciindiis,  Matthew  and  Cook 
Tcphrocyon  hippophagiis,  Matthew  and  Cook 
cf.  tcmcrariiis,  Leidy 
“ cf.  vafer,  Leidy 

“ sp.  maj. 

fCyon  sp. 

Procyonidae 

Bassariscus  antiqiiiis,  Matthew  and  Cook 

Miistelidae 

3 sp.  gen.  indet. 

Felidae 

MacJiacrodont  gen.  indet. 

fFcUs  cf.  maxima,  Scott  and  Osborn 

Rodentia 

Mylaganlidae 

Mylagaiilus  cf.  monodon  (Cope) 

Castoridae 

Dipoides  brevis,  Matthew  and  Cook 
Dipoidcs  tortus,  Leidy 
H ystricops  cf.  vcniistiis,  Leidy 

Geomyidae 

Gcomys  cf.  bisulcatus,  Alarsh 

Edentata 

Megalonychidae 

Gen.  indet. 

Perissodactyla 

Rhinocerotidae 

Tcleoccras  sp. 

A ph  el  ops  sp. 

? Caen  opus  sp. 

Eqnidae 

H ypohippus  cf.  affinis,  Leidy. 

Parahippus  cf.  cognatus  i^eidy 
Mery  chip  pus,  2 or  more  sp. 

N eohip  par  ion,  3 or  more  sp. 

Protohippus,  2 or  more  sp. 

Pliohippiis,  3 or  more  sp. 

Artiodactyla 

Dicotylidae 

Prosthenops  cf.  crassigenis,  Gidley 
“ sp. 


FAUNAL  LIST,  TERTIARY  FORMATION 


45 


Merycoidodontidae 

Meteorcodon  relict  us,  Matthew  and  Cook 

“ “ profcctiis,  Matthew  and  Cook 

Camelidae 

Mcgatylopus  (jigus,  Matthew  and  Cook 

Alticamelus  procerus,  Matthew  and  Cook 
“ sp. 

“ sp. 

Procamclus  sp. 

“ sp. 


Cervidae 


Palacomeryx  sp. 

Cervus  sp. 

Blastomcryx  clegaiis,  Matthew  and  Cook 
“ cf.  zvcllsi  Matthew 

Antilocapridae 

Merycodus  cf.  nccatus  Leidy 
? “ sp.  maj. 

? “ sp.  min. 

Bovidae 

Ncotragoccnis  improvisus,  Matthew  and  Cook 
Bovid  gen.  indet. 

Bison  sp.  indesc. 


Proboscidea 


Elcphantid,  gen.  indesc. 


PLEISTOCENE 

Niobrara  River  Gravels 

Bovidae 

P Bison  sp. 

Cervidae 

Odocoilcus  sp.  indesc. 

Proboscidea 

Elephantidae 


Elcphas  ? columbi 
Agate,  Nebraska, 
Dec.  75,  ipii. 


Distributed  August,  igi2. 


t>~  I 

zl 
. 7 

't,  Ld 


50 

NEBRASKA  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 

Volume  VII,  Part 

/■ 

NOTE  ON  THE  OCCURRENCE  OF  THE  MAMMOTH  IN 
SIOUX  COUNTY,  NEBRASKA. 

15 V IIAROIO)  JAMES  COOK. 

Owiii^  to  the  general  interest  taken  in  the  prehistoric  elephanis, 
mammoths  and  mastodons,  it  seems  well  to  record  the  occurrence  of 
specimens  in  new  localities  in  order  to  add  to  our  knowledge  of  their 
range.  That  their  distribution  was  nearly  world-wide  is  becoming 
common  knowledge,  and  it  is  interesting  to  note  that  they  have  now 
been  reported  from  nearly  every  county  in  the  State.  As  yet,  but  one 
specimen  of  mammoth,  a tooth,  has  been  found  in  Sioux  County.  Al- 
though rather  fragmentary,  early  mastodon  remains  are  abundant  in 
the  Snake  Creek  beds  in  the  southeastern  part  of  the  County. 

In  July,  1906,  the  writer  found  the  first  specimen  of  a mammoth 
reported  from  the  extreme  western  part  of  the  State  (No.  H C 132, 
collection  of  the  writer),  it  was  washed  out  by  a flood  from  the 
Pleistocene  gravels  which  underlie  the  surface  deposits  m the  bottom 
of  the  Niobrara  valley  at  Agate,  Sioux  County,  Nebraska.  This  speci- 
men is  a lower  left  milk  molar  of  Elephas  ? columbi,  the  Columbian 
Mammoth.  It  is  only  slightly  damaged,  and  is  well  fossilized.  The 
tooth  had  little  wear,  so  that  the  posterior  eight  transverse  folds  or 
ridges  are  unworn,  while  the  anterior  seven  folds  are  just  worn  enough 
to  show  the  enamel  ridges  well.  The  tooth  is  well-cemented,  indi- 
cating a rather  advanced  type.  The  posterior  unworn  crests  furnish 
an  unusually  fine  example  of  digitation,  from  seven  to  ten  tiny  cones 
appearing  on  each  ridge.  Although  slightly  damaged  at  the  posterior 
end,  the  tooth  is  now  160  mm.  (about  6j4  in.)  long,  by  65  mm.  (about 
2^  in.)  wide,  by  94  mm.  (about  in. ) high,  and  weighs  2^  pounds. 

The  writer  recently  saw  a damaged  tooth  of  another  specimen  found 
near  Crawford,  Dawes  County,  Nebraska,  about  30  miles  northeast  of 
Agate.  This  was  secured  in  a gravel  p'l,  and  is  very  similar  to  the 
specimen  mentioned  above,  and  is  probably  from  the  same  species. 
This  adds  one  more  to  the  list  of  counties  in  the  State  in  which  mam- 
moths are  found. 

About  six  years  ago,  Professor  F.  B.  Loomis  of  Amherst  College, 
Amherst,  Massachusetts,  found  portions  of  the  tusks  and  skeleton  of 
an  immense  mammoth,  about  40  miles  west  of  Agate,  near  Rawhide 


48 


NEBRASKA  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 


Butte,  Wyoming.  This  specimen  was  not  even  fossilized.  It  was 
found  in  an  alkali  pocket  on  the  surface  of  the  prairie,  where  it  had 
been  preserved  from  decay.  The  bones  had  dried  and  weathered  out. 
d'his  occurrence  and  condition  would  indicate  that  the  animal  had  lived 
very  recently,  geologically  speaking,  probably  within  the  last  few 
thousand  years. 

Unfortunately,  people  living  in  the  region,  not  realizing  the  care  that 
must  be  exercised  in  exhuming  fossil  bones,  ruined  what  would  other- 
wise have  been  a valuable  specimen.  As  a result,  Professor  Loomis 
was  unable  to  secure  more  than  fragments. 

\Mien  those  not  trained  in  handling  fossils  find  strange  bones  or 
teeth,  they  should  not  attempt  to  take  them  out,  but  should  notify  the 
State  Geologist,  or  some  other  trained  person,  at  once,  and  get  infor- 
mation as  to  proper  methods.  Many  rare  and  instructive  specimens 
that  might  easily  have  been  saved,  are  partly  or  totally  destroyed  every 
year  by  people  who  do  not  curb  their  curiosity,  and  who  do  not  wait  "^o 
get  competent  advice  before  attempting  to  remove  specimens  from  their 
natural  matrix. 


Agate,  Nebraska, 
April  10,  1914. 


Distributed  June  20,  1914. 


NEBRASKA  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 


VOLUME  7,  PART  8,  PLATE  1 


Crown  and  side  view^s  of  the  left  lower  molar  of  Elephas  Pcolombi  (young). 
Two-thirds  natural  size. 


51 


b-^ 

1 

t,l 


NEBRASKA  GEOEOGICAl.  SURVEY 
\\)i.uME  7,  Part  7 

A NEW  CANID  FROM  THE  LOWER  PLIOCENE  OF 
NEBRASKA 

1'  E P 1 1 R( ) C Y( ) N M ( ) RT  r FE  R 
]5V  HAROrJ)  JAMES  COOK 

Type,  a left  lower  jaw,  (No.  HC270,  collection  of  the  writer)  with 
dentition  comj^ilete,  excei)t  the  incisors  and  M.,. 

Several  fragmentary  specimens  of  this  animal  have  been  found  in 
the  Snake  Creek  beds,  in  Sioux  County,  Nebraska,  one  of  which  is 
figured  by  Matthew  and  Cook'  but  not  named.  The  material  in  these 
beds  is  very  fragmentary  as  a rule,  and  specimens  complete  enough 
to  make  good  ty])es  are  rare. 

This  sj)ecies  was  fairly  common  in  the  Snake  Creek  fauna,  and  bears 
about  the  same  relation  to  the  smaller  T.  hip])ophagus,  that  the  modern 
grey  wolf  does  to  the  coyote.  The  animal  was  about  the  size  of  the 
modern  grey  wolf.  The  jaw  is  a little  shorter  than  the  largest  Caiiis 
occidcntalis,  but  dee])er  and  heavier.  P_^  is  very  much  larger  and 
heavier  in  the  ])resent  s])ecies,  the  other  premolars  being  about  the 
same  size,  but  more  crowded  than  in  the  wolf.  M^  is  about  the  same 
size  as  a large  wolf,  but  is  heavier,  and  the  heel  is  shorter.  The  talonid 
is  evenly  bicuspid,  and  the  metaconid  very  much  reduced.  M.,  is  larger 
than  in  the  wolf,  and  the  cusps  are  more  numerous  and  less  pro- 
nounced. M.:j  is  double  rooted,  and  is  about  twice  the  size  of  that  in  the 
wolf.  The  canine  is  large,  and  nearly  round  in  cross  section.  The  jaw 
is  very  heavy,  and  deep  under  the  molars.  It  is  about  the  depth  of 
Canis  dints  under  the  premolars,  but  much  deeper  and  sturdier  under 
the  molars,  the  deep,  down-curve  being  very  like  that  in  Aelurodon. 

The  ascending  ramus  is  higher  and  has  a narrower  coronoid  process 
than  either  C.  dints  or  C.  occidcntalis,  and  the  angle  that  it  makes  with 
the  alveolar  border  is  much  less  acute.  The  jaw  is  much  broader  from 
the  base  of  M^  to  the  condyle  than  in  either  of  the  above.  The  angular 
process,  while  slightly  damaged  in  the  type  specimen,  was  evidently 
much  less  pronounced  than  in  Canis. 


Pliocene  Fauna  from  Western  Nebraska. — W.  D.  Matthew  and  H.  J.  Cook. 
Bull.  Am.  Mus.  Nat.  History,  Vol.  XXVl,  Art.  XXVll,  P.  376. 


50 


NEBRASKA  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 


^re])hrocyon  mortifer  is  nearly  one-half  larger  and  heavier  than  T. 
hippophagns.  AI,,  and  are  relatively,  as  well  as  actually,  larger,  and 
the  three  anterior  premolars  are  relatively  smaller  and  lower  crowned. 
P.,  has  not  the  posterior  accessory  cusps,  so  prominent  in  P^  of  T. 
hippophagns,  otherwise  the  dentition  and  jaws  are  very  similar. 


Agate,  Nebraska 
Mav  19,  1914 


h)istrihuted  July  20,  1914 


TEPHROCVON  MOFTIFER,  SP.  NOV. 

Outside  \dc\v  of  i\at;.ia 


IHt  LIBRAM 

OF  n.o 

li«lVlK\TV  OF  iL'-'NO'S 


NEBRASKA  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 


TEPHROCVON  MORTIFER 

Inside  \’iew  of  Manible.  Natural  Size. 


trit  UBKARt 
OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLIMOIS 

\ 


IsTEBPASKA  C7 


•N£  LIBmY 
'OF  THE 


UIIIOIS 


1 


52 

NEBRASKA  GEOLOGFCAL  SURVEY 

Volume  7,  IVkt  (S 

THOMAS  COUNTY  DIATOMITI^ 

By  Clarence  J.  Elmore 

In  July,  1913,  the  attention  of  the  writer  was  called  by  Professor 
E.  11.  Barbour  to  a deposit  of  diatomite  in  Thomas  County.  A 
sample  of  the  material  had  been  sent  to  the  (Geological  Department 
of  the  University  of  Nebraska  by  Mr.  J.  N.  Neely  of  Thedford  for 
identification.  Later,  a visit  was  made  to  the  de])osit  by  the  writer 
in  the  interest  of  the  Nebraska  (Geological  Survey. 

It  is  located  on  the  ranch  of  Mr.  J.  M.  McMillan,  about  twelve 
miles  northeast  of  Thedford.  Jt  is  in  a dei)ression  about  five  acres 
in  extent,  surrounded  by  sand  hills.  At  one  edge  of  this  depression 
about  a foot  of  the  surface  soil  had  been  removed  from  a circular 
area  about  ten  feet  in  diameter,  exposing  a layer  of  diatomite  al)out 
eighteen  inches  in  thickness.  The  material  varied  in  consistency  from 
an  entirely  unconsolidated  condition  to  that  of  hard  limestone,  the 
harder  portions  occurring  as  nodules  from  an  inch  to  a foot  or  more 
in  diameter  scattered  throughout  the  unconsolidated  portions.  These 
nodules  occur  promiscuously  in  the  layer  and  do  not  seem  to  be  more 
numerous  at  one  depth  than  at  another. 

There  is  practically  nothing  in  any  of  the  material  except  cal- 
cium carbonate  and  the  siliceous  shells  of  diatoms.  The  amount  of 
calcium  carbonate  varies  from  14  per  cent  in  the  unconsolidated  por- 
tions to  81  per  cent  in  the  nodules.  The  hardness  of  the  nodules, 
however,  is  not  in  exact  proportion  to  the  amount  of  calcium  car- 
bonate. The  hardest  nodule  contained  71  per  cent  of  the  carbonate 
while  the  one  containing  the  largest  amount  of  it,  81  per  cent,  was 
somewhat  softer.  The  carbonate  in  the  unconsolidated  portions  varied 
from  14  per  cent  to  57  per  cent. 

The  species  found  in  the  lower  part  of  the  layer  are  identical 
with  those  in  the  upper  ])art,  and  all  of  these  species  are  found  living 
now  in  fresh  water  in  Nebraska.  The  aggregation  of  species  in 
this  deposit  is  strikingly  like  that  now  living  in  the  lakes  and  rivers 
of  the  sand  hills,  and  suggests  that  this  depression  was  once  a lake 
like  some  of  those  still  remaining  in  the  region.  That  it  is  not  the 
bed  of  a recent  lake  now  slightly  covered  by  drifting  sand  is  shown 
by  the  fact  that  the  deposit  is  entirely  free  from  sand.  Beneath  it 


52 


NEBRASKA  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 


is  a layer  of  coarse  sand  and  above  it  is  the  fine  sand  of  which  the 
sand  hills  are  composed,  but  there  is  no  trace  of  sand  in  the  layer 
itself.  It  must  have  been  deposited  before  the  sand  of  Nebraska 
had  begun  to  drift,  or  in  a lake  so  large  that  drifting  sand  could  not 
reach  it. 

The  following  species  were  found  in  the  deposit : 

Achnanthes  hungarica,  Amphora  ovalis,  Cocconeis  placentula, 
Cyclotella  meneghiniana,  Cymbella  gastroides,  Cymbella  cistula,  Cym- 
bella  lanceolata,  Cystopleura  gibba,  Cystopleura  sorex,  Cystopleura 
turgida,  Cystopleura  zebra,  Cystopleura  zebra  proboscidea,  Uenti- 
cula  elegans,  Encyonema  prostratum,  Encyonema  turgidum,  Eunotia 
lunaris,  Eragilaria  capucina,  Eragilaria  construens,  Gomphonema 
augur,  Gomphonema  gracile,  Gomphonema  montanum,  Lysigonium 
varians,  Navicula  ambigua  craticula,  Navicula  amphibola,  Navicula 
bacilliformis,  Navicula  brebissonii,  Navicula  cryptocephala  veneta, 
Navicula  cuspidata,  Navicula  dicephala,  Navicula  iridis,  Navicula 
limosa,  Navicula  major,  Navicula  mesolepta  termes,  Navicula  oblonga, 
Navicula  radiosa,  Navicula  sculpta,  Navicula  sphaerophora,  Navicula 
exima,  Navicula  viridis,  Nitzschia  amphibia,  Nitzschia  amphioxys, 
Nitzschia  brebissonii,  Nitzschia  palea,  Nitzschia  punctata,  Nitzchia 
spectabilis,  Synedra  capitata,  Synedra  ulna,  Surirella  ovalis,  Surirella 
saxonica. 


Grand  Island,  Nebraska, 
September,  1913. 


Distributed  July  25,  1914. 


NEBRASKA  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  VOLUME  7,  PART  8,  PLATE 


THOMAS  COUNTY  DIATOM  ITE 

An  exposure  overlaid  by  lilack  soil. 


IHt  LlBHAUr 
OF  THE 

Ui^lVEnSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 


NEBRASKA  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 

A'omtme  7,  IAkt  9 


PROGRESS  IN  THE  STUDY  OE  NEBRASKA  DIATOMS 

P.V  CLARENCE  J.  El. MORE 

Eor  some  time  the  writer  has  been  engaged  u]x)n  the  study  of 
the  recent  and  fossil  diatoms  of  Nebraska,  including  some  that  have 
been  sent  in  from  neighboring  states,  and  ho])es  to  he  able  to  ])u1jlish 
a detailed  report  of  the  work  soon.  As  far  as  known  very  little  at- 
tention is  being  paid  to  diatoms  in  this  country  at  the  ])resent  time. 
Being  among  the  most  striking  and  beautiful  of  microscopic  objects, 
they  received  more  than  their  due  share  of  attention  in  the  days  fol- 
lowing the  invention  of  the  microscope.  Diatoms  were  not  only  col- 
lected and  described  by  scientists,  but  were  collected  by  others  actu- 
ated by  some  such  s])irit  as  that  of  the  modern  postage  stamp  col- 
lector. This  “diatomania’’  so  disgusted  real  scientists  that  it  was 
later  considered  a reflection  to  be  known  as  a student  of  diatoms. 
For  this  reason  the  study  of  Nebraska  diatoms  is  in  its  pioneer  stage. 

It  may  be  well  to  briefly  define  diatoms.  They  are  brown  ])lants 
of  microsco])ic  size,  which  live  in  the  water  everywhere,  and  are  also 
frequently  found  on  damp  ground.  The  brownish  scum  floating  on 
water  or  coating  damp  ground  is  usually  composed  of  diatoms.  Some 
are  especially  abundant  in  streams  in  the  winter,  under  the  ice,  and 
for  a time  in  the  spring  after  the  ice  disappears.  Often  the  entire 
bottom  of  a stream  is  coated  to  a thickness  of  an  inch  or  more  with 
a brown,  mucus-like  slime,  which  consists  almost  wholly  of  diatoms. 
But  by  far  the  larger  number  of  them  are  found  mixed  with  the 
green  slimes  and  scums  in  springs,  creeks,  ponds,  rivers,  and  swamps, 
and  under  such  conditions  the  brown  color  is  not  noticeable.  Many 
diatoms  have  the  power  of  swimming.  In  Navicula,  the  most  com- 
mon of  freshwater  genera,  the  individuals  are  boat-shape,  and  as 
seen  under  the  microscope  swimming  through  the  water,  their  name 
Navicula,  which  means  ‘‘little  boat,”  seems  especially  fitting.  But 
besides  the  swimming  forms  there  are  some  that  grow  attached  by 
stalks,  some  that  are  sessile,  (that  is,  attached  without  a stalk),  some 
that  are  united  in  long  bands  or  threads,  and  some  that  are  imbedded 
in  a gelatinous  mass. 

In  point  of  size  the  largest  diatom  yet  found  in  Nebraska  is  one- 
eightieth  of  an  inch  long,  and  it  would  take  about  a hundred  of  the 


54 


NEBRASKA  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 


smaller  ones  placed  end  to  end  to  reach  across  the  head  of  a pin.  In 
form  they  are  rod-shape,  boat-shape,  oval,  elliptical,  or  circular. 

Although  they  are  so  small,  they  are  really  of  great  economic  im- 
portance. Springs,  ponds,  creeks,  rivers,  and  the  ocean  are  filled  with 
them.  They  form  a large  part  of  the  food  of  animals  little  larger 
than  themselves,  and  these  are  in  turn  food  for  still  larger  ones,  and 
so  on  until  even  the  sharks  and  whales  get  part  of  their  food  indi- 
rectly from  diatoms.  Even  the  hsh  which  are  used  for  food  by 
human  beings  can  trace  part  of  their  food  back  to  diatoms. 

But  in  one  way,  diatoms  differ  from  all  other  plants.  They  are 
enclosed  in  glass-like  shells,  which  consist  of  opal,  and  when  they 
die  the  shells  persist.  Hence  remains  of  nearly  all  the  varieties  of 
diatoms  that  have  ever  lived  are  still  in  existence.  In  some  places 
there  are  layers  of  earth  many  feet  thick  composed  almost  entirely 
of  diatom  shells.  In  California  the  depth  of  one  deposit  is  4,700 
feet.  This  is  known  as  Diatomite,  ‘Tnfusorial  Earth,”  or  “Kiesel- 
guhr."  It  is  a white  or  slightly  brownish  material  and  looks  much 
like  air-slaked  lime.  It  may  be  easily  distinguished  from  other  sub- 
stances of  similar  appearance  by  the  fact  that  it  is  so  light  that  when 
dry  it  will  float  on  water.  It  is  used  for  making  some  kinds  of 
silver  polish  such  as  “Electro-silicon.”  It  has  great  absorbing  power, 
and  when  made  to  absorb  nitro-glycerine  becomes  dynamite,  though 
dynamite  is  now  usually  made  from  other  material.  Large  quantities 
of  it  are  also  used  as  a Alter  in  the  refining  of  sugar. 

The  following  uses  of  diatomite  are  quoted  from  RiesT  Eco- 
nomic Geology : 

P.  77.  “The  Summerland  Eield  is  of  interest  for  the  reason  that 
Arnold  believes  the  oil  to  have  been  derived  from  diatoms  and  other 
organisms  found  in  the  Monterey  shale.” 

P.  204.  “This  material  has  been  used  to  some  extent  for 
abrasive  purposes  either  in  the  form  of  a polishing  powder  or  in 
scouring  soaps.” 

(“Infusorial  Earth  and  Tripoli  are  terms  sometimes  applied  to 
Diatomaceous  earth.  Both  are  incorrect.”) 

P.  224.  “Diatomaceous  earth,  on  account  of  its  porous  charac- 
ter, was  formerly  used  as  an  absorbent  of  nitroglycerine  in  dyna- 
mite, but  little  or  none  appears  to  be  now  employed  for  this  purpose 
in  the  United  States.  It  can  be  used  for  polishing  powders,  and  as 
a non-conductor  of  heat  has  been  occasionally  utilized  for  steam 
boiler  backing,  for  wrapping  steam  pipes,  and  for  fire  proof  cement. 


NEliRASKA  DIATOMS 


55 


Mixed  with  clay,  or  even  alone,  it  can  be  used  for  making  ])orous 
partition  brick  and  tile.  Some  of  the  California  material  can  be  cut 
into  any  desired  shape,  and  used  as  a filter  stone  or  even  for  build- 
ing purposes. 

In  Europe,  es])ecially  in  Germany,  it  has  of  late  years  found 
extended  application.  It  has  been  used  in  the  ])re])aration  (jf  arti- 
ficial fertilizers,  especially  in  the  absorption  of  licjuid  manures,  in 
the  manufacture  of  water  glass,  of  various  cements,  of  glazing  for 
tiles,  of  artificial  stone,  of  ultramarine  and  various  pigments,  of 
aniline  and  alizarine  colors,  of  ])aper,  sealing  wax,  fireworks,  gutta- 
percha objects,  Swedish  matches,  solidified  bromine,  scouring 
powders,  papier-mache,  and  a variety  of  other  articles.  There  is 
said  to  be  a large  and  steadily  growing  demand  for  it.” 

The  known  dei)osits  of  diatomite  in  Nebraska  are  not  large 
enough  to  be  of  any  economic  importance.  Although  these  de])osits 
are  of  little  commercial  value,  they  are  of  great  scientific  interest. 
In  this  connection  it  should  be  stated  that  certain  known  beds  of  the 
State  are  five  to  six  feet  in  thickness,  and  when  the  diatomite  fields  are 
fully  explored  they  may  have  actual  economic  value.  Among  other 
things,  they  add  their  testimony  to  the  fact  that  in  Tertiary  times, 
there  were  lakes  scattered  over  our  great  sand  hills  region,  with  green 
scums  growing  luxuriantly  in  them.  The  diatoms  that  lived  in  Ne- 
braska thousands  of  years  ago  look  exactly  like  the  ones  now  living 
here.  Their  evolution  seems  to  have  been  completed  ages  ago. 

So  far,  the  writer  has  made  out  205  species,  which  include  many 
forms  or  so-called  varieties.  Of  these  only  11  are  round  diatoms,  the 
other  194  being  of  the  elongated  type.  It  is  interesting  to  note  in 
this  connection  that  the  round  diatoms  seem  to  be  the  simpler  and 
more  primitive  type,  and  among  modern  diatoms,  they  are  typically 
marine.  They  are  the  typical  forms  found  in  the  older  fossil 
deposits.  But  the  fossil  dei^osits  of  Nebraska,  none  of  which,  as 
far  as  the  writer’s  research  discloses,  are  older  than  the  Tertiary 
consist  mainly  of  long  diatoms.  They  are  practically  identical  with 
the  diatoms  now  living  in  the  region.  Some  107  species  of  fossil 
diatoms  have  been  made  out,  and  100  of  these  have  been  found  living  in 
the  State.  The  other  seven  are  common  freshwater  forms,  and  may  be 
located  when  a more  complete  study  is  made. 

Friends  of  the  writer  have  added  to  his  collection  of  ma- 
terial and  the  following  localities  for  diatoms  in  Nebraska  are 
represented:  Agate,  Ainsworth,  Andrews,  Anselmo,  Arago,  Arbor, 
Ashland,  Aspinwall,  Atkinson,  Auburn,  Bellevue,  Blue  Springs,  Brat- 


56 


NEBRASKA  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 


ton.  Brock.  Broken  Bow,  Brownlee,  Brownville,  Callaway,  Cedar 
Creek,  Chadron,  Cherry  County,  Clear  Lake,  Cook,  Crawford,  Crete, 
Dawson.  Dewey  Lake.  Dismal  River,  Dunbar.  Durly  Lake.  Emerald, 
Ewin^,  Eairbury,  Ealls  City,  Georgetown.  Gordon  Creek,  Grand 
Island.  Greeley  County,  Hackl)erry  Lake,  Halsey,  Heming-ford.  Holt 
County.  Humboldt,  Ithaca,  Johnson,  Julian,  Lincoln,  Little  Alkali 
Lake.  Lodi,  Long  Lake,  Long  Pine,  Louisville,  iMason  City,  iMeadow, 
Helia,  Milford,  iMinden,  iMullen,  Nebraska  City,  Nemaha  City,  Nio- 
brara River  in  Holt  County,  Omaha.  Orella,  Osage,  Pawnee  City, 
Peru,  Pelican  Lake,  Plattsmouth,  Pleasant  Dale,  Polk.  Red  Cloud. 
Roca,  Ruby.  Rulo,  Salem.  Seneca,  Seward,  Sheridan  County.  South 
Bend,  St.  Deroin,  St.  Paul,  Stromsburg.  Talmage,  Tecumseh,  Te- 
kamah,  Thedford,  AHlentine,  M'ahoo.  A\’ann.  AWeping  AAHter,  AAhllow 
Lake,  AAdieeler  County,  AA  oodlawn,  and  VMrk.  This  may  look  like 
a large  number  of  localities,  but  since  there  are  about  1,250  towns  in 
the  State,  only  about  7 per  cent,  of  the  State,  as  indicated  by  towns, 
is  represented,  while  93  per  cent,  has  been  entirely  untouched.  Many 
of  these  places  are  represented  by  only  a single  sample,  while  a com- 
plete research  would  require  hundreds. 

The  fossil  material,  except  one  collection  furnished  by  Dean  C. 
E.  Bessey,  has  been  secured  from  Professor  E.  H.  Barbour  and  from 
Mr.  and  Airs.  Harold  Cook.  Eossil  diatoms  have  so  far  been  found 
in  Nebraska  only  in  the  following  counties:  Cherry.  Greeley.  AATeeler, 
Thomas,  Hooker,  and  Sioux. 

The  following  papers  concerning  Nebraska  Diatoms  have  been 
published : 

Diatomaceae  in  AA  ebber's  Catalogue  of  Nebraska  Flora  in  the 
report  of  the  Nebraska  State  Board  of  Agriculture,  1889,  p.  186. 

Botanical  Survev  of  Nebraska.  Report  on  Collections  made  in 
1892,  p.  45. 

Botanical  Survev  of  Nebraska.  Report  on  Collections  made  in 
1894-5,  p.  24. 

Diatomaceous  Deposits  of  Nebraska,  E.  H.  Barbour,  in  the  Pro- 
ceedings of  the  Nebraska  Academy  of  Sciences,  A ol.  A’,  1894-5,  p.  18. 

Diatomaceous  Earth  in  Nebraska,  E.  H.  Barbour,  Nebraska  Geo- 
logical Survey,  AMI.  I,  1903,  p.  193. 

Preliminary  notice  of  a newly  discovered  bed  of  Aliocene  Diatoms 
by  Eleanor  Barbour.  Nebraska  Geological  Survey,  AMI.  3,  Part  12,  1910. 


Grand  Island,  Nebraska. 
Alarch,  1914 


Distributed  July  25,  1914 


Li 

1 

. 10 


54 

XKHRASKA  (;i5(  )L( )( ilC'AL  SURVKY 
X'oLrME  7,  Part  10 

NOTH  ON  TH15  DKNTITION  AAIPHICVON  AMXICOLA 
A (ilOAN'nC  F(  )SSI  I.  DOC 

i;\'  II AROIJ)  I . C‘()(  >K 

'The  species,  Ani])liicv()n  ainnicola,  \vas  fcmnded  l)y  Matthew  and 
Cook  on  a left  lower  jaw  from  the  Snake  Creek  beds,  lower  Pliocene, 
in  Sioux  County,  Nebraska,  h'he  writer  recently  secured  a second 
specimen  in  the  same  horizon,  about  one  hundred  yards  from  the 
si)ot  where  the  ori»-inal  ty])e  was  secured,  six  years  pre\  iously.  'Fhis 
specimen  throws  additional  li^ht  upon  the  dentition  of  the  s])ecies. 

In  the  type  specimen  of  A.  ainnicola,  the  teeth  were  badly  worn,  so 
that  the  cusp  arrangement  could  not  he  clearly  told  in  M,  and  AI.,. 
d'he  ])resent  sjiecimen  is  No.  l lCv300,  collection  of  the  writer.  is 

very  like  that  in  I)aph(Enodon  superhus,  but  relatively,  as  well  as 
actually,  more  robust ; the  metacouid  is  ])roportionally  smaller,  the 
hypoconid  larger,  and  the  entoconid  reduced.  AI.,  has  three  well- 
de\eloped  liunodont  cus]>s,  the  two  anterior  situated  transversely,  and 
the  third  posterior  cus])  forming  the  apex  of  a right-angled  triangle 
with  the  other  two.  AP,  wais  (pute  large,  and  hacl  two  roots. 

ddie  molars  are  very  robust  in  i)roportion  to  the  premolars.  P^  is 
relatively  small.  In  form,  it  is  very  like  that  of  D.  su])erl)us,  Init  the 
crown  is  lower,  and  the  posteric^r  cingulum  is  not  developed,  heroin 
this  point  forward,  the  jaw  in  the  type  of  A.  ainnicola  was  water- 
worn,  and  broken  off,  so  that  little  could  be  told  aliout  it.  In  the  ])res- 
ent  specimen,  P..  is  absent,  hut  the  alveolus  indicates  a tooth  somewhat 
smaller  than  P^.  It  has  two  roots,  and  there  was  a space,  not  over 
two  millimeters,  between  it  and  P^. 

In  front  of  P..  is  a diastema  14  mm.  long.  P.^  has  two  roots,  and 
is  relatively  small.  In  front  of  this  is  another  s]3ace  2 mm.  long. 
P^,  as  indicated  by  the  alveolus^  was  nearly  the  size  of  Ik,.  Between 
P,  and  the  canine  is  a diastema  11  mm.  long.  1'hough  the  jaw  is 
broken  off,  enough  is  present  to  indicate  an  immense  canine,  whose 
greatest  anteroposterior  diameter  is  30  mm.  below  the  alveolar  border. 
Idle  large  third  molar  is  a more  primitive  tvj^e  than  that  found  in 
Daphoendon  superbus.  But  in  the  more  robust  and  ])rimitive  species, 
I),  periculosus,  from  the  lower  Aliocene,  we  hnd  a tyi^e  which  is  more 
nearly  on  the  ancestral  line  of  the  present  specimen. 


NEBRASKA  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 


'J'liis  species  is  the  largest  of  the  known  (logs,  for  the  length  of  the 
com])lete  dental  series  is  nearly  200  mm.  However,  according  to  mate- 
rial recently  secured  by  Professor  Sinclair  of  P^rinceton  University, 
there  is  a much  larger  and  closely  related  species,  in  these  beds,  and  it 
is  now  under  study. 

MEASUREMENTS  UE  AMPHICVOX  AMNMCOT.A. 

P,--i\J.. — length lOS  mm. 

— anteroposterior  39 

— transverse  width  of  heel 19 

AI.,.  — anteroposterior  diameter  28 

AI.,.  — transverse  20.5 

Pj.  — anteroposterior 22.5 

PY  — transverse 11 

P.,.  — anteroposterior 11 

P^.,,  — transverse  5 

PPepth  of  jaw  l)elow  Al^ 59 


Agate.  Xebraska 


Distributed  January  10,  1915 


XKKRASKA  riEOLOGICAL  SI’RVEV  VOLUME  7,  PART  10,  PLATE  1 


1 

1 

, I 0 


AM  PH  K'VOX  AM  MCOLA 

Side  and  crown  view  of  left  jaw.  x %. 


r 


•i  "T- 


IHt  library 
OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 


/ 

f 


NEBRy\SKA  i,\ii)\A)CACA\.  SURVEY 


\’()iAJiMi-:  7,  Rart  12 


SOME  PEANT  CUTICLJAS  EROM  THE  GRANEROS  SHALP:S 

r.Y  A.  C.  VVinTF(AU) 

During  the  fall  of  1914  Mr.  Burnett  and  the  writer  were  detailed 
by  the  Nebraska  Geological  Survey,  under  the  direction  of  Dr.  IE  IT. 
Barbour,  to  investigate  some  mammoth  remains  near  Reynolds,  Ne- 
braska. Idle  material  embodied  in  this  ]iat)er  was  collected  on  this 
trip. 

Reynolds  is  in  the  southeastern  jiart  of  the  State,  on  Rose  Creek, 
Jefferson  County,  about  5 miles  north  of  the  Kansas  line. 

ddie  country  around  Reynolds  is  roughened  by  numerous  ravines 
which  expose  the  underlying  strata.  A thin  mantle  of  glacial  clay 
and  gravel  covers  the  surface  which  is  underlain  by  Cretaceous  beds 
ranging  from  Graneros  to  Dakota.  It  is  sufficient  for  the  ])ur- 
pose  of  this  paper  to  state  that  there  are  many  exposures  of  the 
Graneros  and  Greenhorn  along  most  of  the  stream  channels.  It  is 
in  the  Graneros  that  the  tilant  tissue  under  discussion  was  found. 

Samples  were  collected  from  two  beds  about  7 miles  a])art.  Bed 
No.  1,  lies  about  one  and  one-(|uarter  miles  west  of  Reynolds 
along  the  main  channel  of  Rose  Creek,  where  there  is  a large  ex- 
posure of  clay  blending  into  shale,  ddie  shale  is  highly,  carbonaceous, 
being  almost  black  in  color  and  containing  small  amounts  of  lignite. 
Nodules  of  iron  pyrites  and  stellate  masses  of  gypsum  are  abundant. 
It  is  here  that  the  plant  tissue  was  discovered. 

I'his  tissue  occurs  in  long  slender  strips  which  are  readily  removed 
from  the  shale.  Mdien  immersed  in  water  they  become  flexible,  and 
are  readily  rendered  transparent  by  treatment.  The  tissue  is  usually 
found  scattered,  although  masses  of  it  occasionally  occur. 

The  second  bed  lies  about  seven  miles  west  of  Reynolds  along  a 
small  tributary  of  Rose  Creek.  This  deposit  is  on  the  farm  of  Mr. 
J.  1..  Lamb,  to  whom  the  writer  is  indebted  for  many  favors  and  for 
his  knowledge  of  the  region.  This  bed  is  very  similar  to  bed  No. 
1,  though  the  tissue  is  not  so  abundant  and  there  is  not  so  much 
carbonaceous  matter.  In  bed  No.  2 the  tissue  seems  to  be  dicoty- 
ledonous, while  in  bed  No.  1 it  is  coniferous. 


78 


NEBRASKA  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 


\^ery  little  change  seems  to  have  taken  place  in  the  tissue,  which, 
after  being  treated  with  nitric  acid  and  ammonia,  shows  the  struc- 
ture of  the  leaf  epidermis  very  distinctly.  The  tissue  from  bed  No. 
1 shows  a very  peculiar  structure  under  the  microscope.  It  is 
traversed  longitudinally  by  aggregations  of  cells  bounded  b}'  thick  walls. 
Each  of  these  masses  is  subdivided  into  numerous,  thin-walled  cells  of 
irregular  shat)e.  The  thick  walls  bounding  the  large  masses  show  no 
structure,  being  simply  much  thickened  cell  wall  tissue.  They  anasto- 


Eig.  1.  Caplioniferous  leaf  tissue,  magnihed  120  diameters. 

mose  and  have  a recticulated  aiipearance.  (Tigs.  1 and  2.)  The  cells 
themselves  are  regularly  rectangular  and  seem  to  be  arranged  tetramer- 
otisly. 

d'he  stomata  seem  to  be  scattered  over,  and  wholly  confined  to,  one 
snrface,  probably  the  lower.  They  occur  in  groups  parallel  to  the 
longitudinal  axis  of  the  leaf,  and  are  abundant,  though  some  parts 
of  the  leaf  have  none.  Fig.  3.  h'ach  stoma  is  surrounded  by  two 
or  three  subsidiary  cells,  Figs.  4 and  5.  These  subsidiary  cells  do  not 


PLANT  CUTICLES,  CRANEROS  SHALES 


79 


meet  at  the  ends  but  form  a triangular  cell,  which  is  surrounded  in 
some  cases  by  two  crescentic  cells,  ddie  stomata  measure  .03«S  by 
.0364  mm.  and  9 to  11  may  be  found  in  each  square  centimeter. 

No  hairs  or  bydatbodes  seem  to  be  ])resent.  Wdien  this  tissue 
is  compared  with  modern  leaf  tissue  it  is  found  to  be  very  similar  to 
the  conifers  in  the  general  sbai)e  of  the  stomata  and  arrangement  of 


Eig.  2.  Coniferous  tissue  showing  groups  of  stomata,  a.  Magnified  SO 
diameters. 

parts,  although  the  cell  arrangement  is  decidedly  dififerent.  Because 
of  this  anomalous  structure  and  the  occurrence  of  two  fossil  fungi 
belonging  to  genera  which  are  seldom  if  ever  found  on  Clymno- 
sperms,  it  is  impossible  to  make  any  definite  statements  as  to  exact 
relationship.  The  fungi  are  described  in  a separate  paper.  No.  57, 
Nebraska  Geological  Survey. 


80 


NEBRASKA  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 


The  tissue  from  bed  No.  2 is  very  different  in  occurrence  and  in 
structure,  and  is  not  so  abundant.  It  is  not  found  in  long-  strips  but 
in  irregular  pieces,  varying  from  very  small  fragments  to  tbo.se  as 
large  as  a ])enny.  These  ])ieces  are  always  ragged  and  more  or  less 
decayed.  This  seems  to  be  due  to  the  less  resistant  character  of  the 
dicotyledonous  tissue.  Although  but  a few  fragments  were  found  in 


Fig.  3 Fig.  4 

Fig.  3.  The  same  magniliecl  180  diameters.  Notice  the  thick  walls,  and  tetra- 
meroiis  arrangement  of  cells. 

Fig.  4.  A single  stoma  magnified  180  diameters. 


Fig.  5.  Camera  Incida  drawing  of  a stoma  in  the  above. 


the  second  bed  enough  was  collected  to  determine  their  character. 

Under  low  ]iower  the  tissue  shows  small  rectangular  cells  with  the 
cell  walls  approximately  of  uniform  thickness,  Fig.  6.  There  are  no 
thick  vein-like  cell  walls,  and  the  arrangement  of  the  cells  as  a 
whole  seems  to  he  more  or  less  columnar.  Under  a higher  power 
the  major  axes  of  the  cells  are  seen  to  he.  jxirallel  in  most  cases. 


PLANT  CUTICLES,  GRANEPOS  SHALES 


81 


Occasionally  there  are  cells  which  lie  at  rig-ht  angles  to  the  others. 
It  is  also  to  be  noted  that  a few  of  the  cells  have  a polygonal  sha])e, 
Eig".  7.  Idiere  seems  to  he  no  difference  in  the  shaj)e  or  arrange- 
ment of  the  cells  on  the  np])er  and  lower  epidermis. 

The  stomata  occur  on  one  side  only,  presumably  the  lower,  since 
this  is  Generally  the  case  when  stomata  are  confined  to  one  side.  In 
the  specimen  under  discussion  they  are  scattered  irregularly  over  the 


Eig.  0.  Dicotyledonous  leaf  tissue  magnified  80  diameters. 


whole  surface  and  are  not  grouped  in  any  regular  manner.  They 
are  of  the  common  ty])e,  as  there  are  no  subsidiary  cells  and  the  sur- 
rounding epidermal  cells  are  not  arranged  in  a definite  manner.  Figs. 
8 and  9.  The  stomata  are  longer  when  measured  at  right  angles  than 
when  measured  parallel  to  the  stomatal  opening.  They  measure 
.0376  by  .03523  mm.  Tbe  stomata  average  about  35  to  the  square 
centimeter. 


82 


NEBRASKA  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 


It  is  impossible  to  determine  to  which  order  of  plants  this  tissue 
belongs,  l)ut  it  is  probably  some  Angios]')erm.  It  is  well  known  that 
a mnltitnde  of  Angiosperms  were  living  at  that  time  and  it  would  be 
impossilde  to  hazard  a guess  as  to  the  exact  identity  of  this  material 
1 lowever,  there  are  several  classes  which  need  not  be  considered, 
namely,  all  plants  having  stomata  of  the  Ruhiaceous  or  Cruciferous 
tyi)es.  In  all  res])ects  it  is  very  like  the  i)lants  which  have  the  simj^le 
type  of  stomata  and  might  belong  to  any  of  the  other  orders. 


Fig.  7 Fig.  8 

I'dg.  T.  Same  magnified  180  diameters.  Notice  thin  walls. 

Eig.  8.  Stomata  of  dicotyledonous  leaf  tissue  magnified  180  diameters. 


Eig.  9.  Camera  lucida  drawing  of  the  dicotyledonous  stoma. 

The  forms  just  described  represent  two  very  divergent  types  of 
leaf  epidermis  and  belong  to  two  widely  separated  groups.  Both 
specimens  show  that  the  stomata  of  that  time  were  very  similar  to 
those  of  the  jiresent ; in  fact,  the  entire  eiiidermis  is  very  similar  to 
that  of  modern  ])lants.  Acknowledgments  are  due  to  Dr.  Barhour. 


d'he  University  of  Nebraska 
Lincoln,  ( Ictoher  25,  1915 


Distributed  March  30,  1916 


57 

NRBRASKA  r,Ki)\A  )(;iCAL  SUK\  ICV 

7,  Part  13 


A DESCRIITION  ()1<  1A\’( ) NIAV  I^OSSIP  FUNCI 

\\y  A.  r.  WlIITFOKl) 

While  studying  Cretaceous  leaf  tissue  two  fuiii^d  were  found, 
wliieli  it  is  the  purpose  of  this  article  to  describe. 

OVULARITES  RAKI’.Ol’RI,  CKN.  KT.  SI’.  NOW 

This  is  represented  hy  a nuniher  of  slides  coutaininj^  sterile  and 
fertile  mycelia,  with  conidio])hores  and  conidia. 

The  sterile  hypha  are  lyin^  on  the  outer  ei)ideruns  and  are  always 
prostrate,  forming  light  fluffy  masses,  d'hey  are  very  much  branched, 
twining  in  and  out,  and  apparently  never  form  in  balls  or  in  closely 
aggregated  masses,  ddiere  seems  to  he  no  regularity  to  the  brauching 
for  there  is  no  sign  of  dichotomy,  ddie  hyphae  are  sei)tate,  forming 
cells  varying  from  .0141  mm.  to  .0235  mm.  in  length  and  averaging 
.0047  mm.  in  width.  There  were  no  fertile  mycelia  found  among 
the  sterile  ones.  Figs.  1 and  2. 

The  fertile  mycelia  \vere  found  a short  distance  from  the  sterile 
ones,  on  the  same  slide.  44iese  were  septate  and  branched  hut  differ 
from  the  above  in  that  they  seem  to  have  been  more  or  less  ascending, 
they  do  not  lie  as  nearly  in  the  same  plane  as  the  sterile  mycelia.  44iey 
are  of  the  same  width,  but  are  only  .01175  mm.  in  length.  Figs.  3,  4 (a  ), 
and  5 (a). 

44ie  conidiophorcs  are  borne  on  the  fertile  hypha  and  are  elongated. 
They  have  many  branches  w hich  are  variously  arranged,  but  are  never 
verticillate.  The  cells  are  nearly  square  but  are  not  inflated.  The 
conidia  are  borne  on  the  ends  of  these.  Figs.  4 (b)  and  Fig.  5 (b). 

The  conidia  are  solitary  and  continuous.  They  are  globose  iu  all 
cases.  Their  attachment  to  the  distinct  conidiophorcs  is  plainly  visi- 
ble. They  vary  in  diameter  from  .00705  mm.  to  .0094  mm.  Fig.  4 (c) 
and  Fig.  5 (c). 

If  we  compare  the  above  with  the  modern  genera  of  fungi,  we 
find  that  it  agrees  most  nearly  with  Ovularia  of  Saccardo.  He 
says  in  describing  this  genus,  “Biophilous,  hyphae  subsimj)le,  erect 
apex  more  or  less  distinctly  denticulate.  Conidia  globose  or  ovoid, 
continuous,  hyaline,  solitary,  rarely  little  catenulate.”  In  speaking  o^ 


86 


NEBRASKA  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 


Eig.  1.  Ovularites  l)arl)ouri.  gen.  et.  sp.  nov.  Sterile  mycelia.  Magnified 
oGO  diameters. 


Fig.  2.  The  above  printed  on  the  leaf  tissue. 


TWO  NEW  FOSSIL  FUNGI 


87 


Fig,  3.  Fertile  mycelia  of  above.  Magnified  100  diameters. 


a 

b 


c 


Fig.  4.  Fertile  mycelia  magnified  300  diameters,  a.  conidiophore.  b.  conidia. 
c.  hy'phal  cell. 


88 


NEBRASKA  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 


Ovulariopsis,  which  previously  was  included  with  the  above,  he  says, 
“Sterile  hypha  recumbent,  fertile,  ascending.  Conidia  acrogenous, 
subclavate.”  From  the  above  description,  the  fungus  under  dis- 
cussion proves  to  be  very  similar  to  Ovularia.  From  the  slides  it 
would  seem  that  the  mycelia  were  recumbent  in  the  sterile  condition 
and  ascending  in  the  fertile  while  the  conidia  are  not  acrogenous. 
ddius  it  does  not  agree  in  all  particulars  with  the  known  Ovularia, 
but  closely  enough,  however,  to  be  classed  as  Ovularites.  This  name 
is  given  after  the  accepted  custom  of  adding  “ites”  to  the  generic 
name  in  vogue,  to  any  form  which  cannot  be  dehnitely  located  in  a 
living  genus,  but  which  is  still  close  enough  to  warrant  an  assumption 
of  generic  relationship. 


a 


I'ig.  a.  Camera  liicida  drawing  of  same.  a.  hyplial  cell.  b.  conidia.  c.  con- 
idiophore. 

DT.\CXO.Sr.S  OF  OVUr..\RlTKS  PAUl’.OinU,  ('.EX.  ET.  .sp.  xov. 

Ilyphae  hranched,  se|)tate,  sterile  recumbent,  fertile  ascending,  col- 
lected in  light  fluffy  masses  but  never  fascicled.  Conidiophores  elon- 
gate, branched,  septate,  not  inflated  or  verticillate.  Conidia  globose, 
.solitary,  continuous,  smooth.  Alycelia  hyaline.  Cnnvth  on  a C're- 
taceous  conifer,  Craneros  shale. 

PUCCI NITE.S  CRET.VCEl’M,  .SP.  NOV. 

This  fungus  was  found  on  the  same  Cretaceous  tissue  as  the 
above  and  lent  itself  very  readily  to  study.  It  is  represented  by  numer- 
ous sori  and  spores.  The  only  stage  rei)resented  is  the  teleuto. 

The  sori  are  scattered  over  the  leaf  surface  as  small  dots  which 


TWO  NEW  FOSSIL  FUNGI 


80 


in  general  are  round.  Many  of  them  are  solid  and  others  show 
simply  a ring  of  s])ores.  Each  sorus  is  independent  and  shows  the 
mycelium  of  the  fungus.  The  mycelium  is  septate  and  branched.  It 
grows  inward  towards  the  sorus  and  is  lost  in  the  mass.  It  also  ])ene' 
trates  the  leaf  tissue  so  that  it  is  im]X)ssil)le  to  follow  a hypha  for 
any  di.stance.  The  sori  are  round  and  vary  in  diameter  from  .ILS 
to  .236  mm.  Figs.  6,  7,  8 and  9. 


hdo-.  {).  Pnccinites  cretacciim.  Sp.  nov.  Shows  sori  magnilied  1.20  diameters. 

The  teleutosiiores  are  uniseptate  with  the  up])er  cell  suh-triangular 
in  shape  and  the  lower  cell  ovate  to  s])herical.  In  some  of  the  spores 
an  apical  germinal  spot  can  he  seen.  This  is  more  refractive  than 
the  rest  of  the  spore,  ddiese  teleuto  S])ores  vary  in  size,  the  u])per 
cell  measuring  from  .00703  to  .01175  mm.  in  width,  Figs.  10,  12, 
and  13. 

Scattered  among  the  above  teleutospores  are  many  mesospores 
which  are  one-celled  and  are  always  ovate  and  larger.  They  measure 
from  .0141  to  .0235  mm.  in  length  and  from  .0141  to  0.1(S4  mm.  in 


90 


NEBRASKA  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 


width,  as  may  be  seen  from  the  figures,  they  are  attached  to  the  end 
of  a septate  hypha,  whose  cells  are  shortened  but  are  longer  trans- 
versely than  longitudinally,  Figs.  10  and  11. 

Compared  with  the  modern  genera  of  Puccinea  there  is  a close 
resemblance.  Saccardo  says:  “Teleutospores  for  the  most  part 
transversely  uniseptate,  loculate,  carrying  one  germinal  pore,  pedicil- 
late,  in  sori  or  pulvinii,  ])ulverulent."  Stevens  says  of  the  mesospore, 
in  discussing  Puccinea.  “Mesospore  is  a term  applied  to  occasional 
unicellular  forms  of  Puccinea  and  related  genera  which  do  not 
usually  have  unicellular  teliospores.”  Applying  this  description  to 
the  fossil  form  under  discussion  we  find  that  it  is  unusually  suitable, 
so  it  seems  proper  to  term  the  form  Puccinites. 

DIAGNOSIS  OF  PUCCINITES  CRETACEUM,  SP.  NOV. 

Teleutospores  transversely  uniseptate,  one  germinal  spot,  upper  cell 
suhtriangular,  lower  cell  globose  to  ovate,  collected  in  dense  sori,  circu- 
lar. Alesospores  common,  ovate. 

The  above  fossil  forms  add  to  our  knowledge  of  the  fossil  fungi  and 
while  they  throw  no  light  upon  the  phylogeny  of  the  group,  nevertheless 
they  do  add  to  our  knowledge  of  the  Cretaceous  flora.  Acknowledge- 
ments are  due  Professor  Barbour  for  assistance  and  funds  for  carrying 
on  this  investigation. 


TWO  NEW  FOSSIL  FUNGi 


91 


Fig.  7.  Same  as  above,  magnibed  300  dimeters.  Hollow,  round  sori. 


a 


Fig.  8 Fig.  9 

Fig.  8.  Solid  sorus.  a.  mass  of  hypha.  b.  ramifying  mycelia. 
Fig.  9.  Same  as  Fig  8. 


92 


NEBRASKA  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 


a b 


c 

-a- 

^ b 

b 

d d 

Fig.  11  Fig.  12  Fig.  13 


Fig.  11.  Mesospore.  a.  spore,  b.  hypha. 

Fig.  12.  Teleutospore.  a.  upper  cell.  b.  septum,  c.  lower  cell  d.  hypha. 

Fig.  13.  Teleutospore.  a.  germinal  spot.  b.  upper  cell.  c.  septum,  d.  lower 
cell.  e.  hypha. 


The  University  of  Nebraska 
Lincoln,  December  15,  1915 


Distributed  March  30,  1916 


NI^BRASKA  (;p:()Ii)(;iCAL  SUR\'RY 


\’()I,UMK  7,  J’akt  14 


PRESER\ED  EPIDERMIS  EROM  THE  CARBONIEEROUS 

oE  ni^:braska 

15V  A.  C.  WIIITFORD 

During  llie  season  of  1912  while  studying  the  Carlicjiiiferoiis  of 
Nebraska,  Prof.  E.  V.  Schramm  and  Mr.  j.  B.  Burnett  of  the  De])art- 
ment  of  (ieology,  discovered  a lied  of  Enrytiterids  near  I’ern.*  Wdiile 
collecting  in  this  lied  some  long,  narrow  strips  of  liexilile  material, 
which  proved  to  he  i)lant  tissue,  were  found  liy  Professor  Barhonr.- 
The  tissue-bearing  stratum  is  very  thin  and  apparently  limited  to  one 
small  area 

l^arly  in  the  fall  of  1913  I'rofessor  Barbour  turned  over  to  the 
writer  his  collection  of  |)lant  tissue  for  investigation.  The  results 
are  embodied  in  the  following  re])ort : 

ddie  tissue  occurs  in  a carbonaceous  shale,  as  slender  stri])s,  varying 
from  jT  to  3 inches  (12  to  76  mm.)  in  length  and  from  )4  hj  yg 
inch  (6  to  18  mm.)  in  width.  The  strips  are  covered  with  a film  of 
coal,  which  is  readily  removed  by  treating  with  nitric  acid  mixed  with 
potassium  nitrate,  and  then  washing  in  ammonium  hydroxide.  The 
tissue,  afteF  this  treatment,  is  of  a light,  transi)arent,  amber  color,  and 
is  quite  flexible,  which  greatly  facilitates  study  and  makes  the  t)repa- 
ration  of  cross  sections  ])ossihle.  It  is  not  silicifled  or  calcifled,  hut  is 
l)reserved  in  the  same  manner  as  the  so-called  ])aper-coal  from  the 
province  of  Toula  in  Russia.  Speaking  of  these  beds  Seward  says, 
“In  the  Russian  area  the  Carboniferous  or  Permian  rocks  have  Ijee^i 
subjected  to  little  lateral  pressure  and  unlike  the  beds  of  the  same 
age  in  WTstern  Europe,  they  have  iK)t  been  folded  and  comju'essed  by 
widespread  and  extensive  crust  foldings.  Instead  of  the  dark  seams 
of  coal  there  occur  beds  of  a dark  brown  laminated  material,  made 
up  largely  of  the  cuticles  of  Leifldodendroid  plants."  The  same  lack 
of  metamoiqihism  obtains  in  Nebraska. 


Mkirboiir,  Ncl).  Geological  Survey,  \’ol.  1.  pari  12. 

-l)arl)our.  Am.  Jr.  of  Science,  \’ol.  XXXIX,  pj).  1T:s,  174. 
-Barbour,  Neb.  Geological  Survey,  \'ol.  4,  Part  J(),  pp.  22!)-2;)2. 


94 


NEBRASKA  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 


Tlie  color  of  the  tissue  is  probably  clue  to  au  uliuate,  which  can 
he  largely  extracted  iu  the  form  of  a dark  brown  lic|uid  similar  to 
ammonium  ulmate. 

If  a strip  of  this  prepared  tissue  is  held  to  the  light  it  appears  to 
he  composed  of  a meshwork  of  small  cells  similar  to  the  ei^idermis  of 
a modern  leaf.  When  the  tissue  is  examined  under  the  microscope 
it  is  found  to  consist  of  irregularly  shaped  elongate  cells  paralleling 
the  longitundinal  axis  of  the  leaf,  Figs.  1,  2,  3.  Occasionally  triangu- 
lar-sha])ed  cells  are  seen  arranged  in  a radiate  manner,  hut  the  great 


Eig.  .1.  Epidermis  of  leaf,  magniliecl  ilO  diameters. 


majority  are  of  the  elongate  type.  Small  round  holes  occur  in  nearly 
every  cell,  and  hairs  are  of  frequent  occurrence.  The  walls  of  the 
cells  are  normal  in  thickness  and  show  no  signs  of  decomposition. 

Medium  sized  stomata  are  occasionally  seen  scattered  ])romiscu- 
ously  over  the  surface  of  the  leaf.  These  stomata  are  elliptical  and 
measure  from  .045  to  .061  mm.  in  length  and  from  .017  to  .038  mm. 
in  width.  Fig.  2 (a).  Figs.  4 and  5. 

In  most  of  the  stomata  the  guard  cells  are  somewhat  shrivelled  and 
are  either  torn  from  their  hinges  or  crowded  to  the  side.  The  guard 


CARBONIFEROUS  EPIDERMIS 


95 


Fig,  2.  Leaf  epidermis  magnified  110  diameters.  Showing  stomata  and 
white  spots  which  arc  hydathodes. 


Fig.  3 Fig.  4 

Fig.  3.  Leaf  epidermis  magnified  180  diameters,  showing  shape  of  epidermal 
cells  and  hydathode  openings. 

Fig.  4.  Stoma  magnified  180  diameters,  a.  end  cell.  h.  subsidiary  cell, 
c.  guard  cell. 


90 


NEBRASKA  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 


cells  are  the  ordinary  tyi)e,  but  the  stomata  differ  from  those  of  the 
present  time  in  the  shape  and  arrangement  of  the  subsidiary  cells. 
Idiere  are  two  of  the  latter  on  each  side.  They  are  rectangular  in 
shape,  with  the  long  axis  parallel  to  the  longitudinal  axis  of  the 
stomata.  They  are  ])laced  end  to  end  and  are  bordered  on  the  out- 
side by  tyi)ical  e])idermal  cells.  At  each  end  of  the  stomata  three 
narrow,  elongated  cells  are  usually  found  extending  lengthwise  of  the 


a b c d 

Eig.  5.  Camera  lucida  drawing  of  stoma,  a.  subsidiary  cell.  b.  epidermal  ceil, 
c.  guard  cell.  d.  end  cell. 

leaf ; in  a few  cases,  however,  there  occur  only  two  such  cells. 
Ivither  8 or  10  cells  always  surround  each  stomata.  The  subsidiary 
cells  are  regularly  rectangular  in  shajte  and  are  thinner  than  the 
typical  epidermal  cells.  Adiile  it  has  not  been  possible  to  study  the 
hinge  arrangement,  it  has  been  possible  to  study  a transverse  section, 
determine  the  shape  of  the  cells,  and  to  determine  the  fact  that  no 
secondary  thickening  occurs.  See  Fig.  6. 


a b 


c 


Eig.  6.  Transverse  section  of  stoma,  a.  guard  cell.  b.  subsidiary  cell.  c.  epi- 
dermal cell.  Camera  lucida  drawing. 

d'he  arrangement  of  the  stomata  does  not  seem  to  be  according  to 
a definite  plan  exce]it  that  the  major  axis  lies  parallel  to  the  longi- 
tudinal axis  of  the  leaf.  I'here  are  only  about  7 stomata  to  the 
stjuare  millimeter  and  these  are  found  on  one  side  of  the  leaf.  This 
number,  as  may  be  seen  from  the  following  table,  is  comparable  to 
the  number  found  in  modern  (lymnos])erms.  The  table  is  after 


Dr.  A.  Weise. 


CARP.ONIKEROITS  EPIDERMIS 


97 


Length  Preadth  Number 


N ame 

Upper 

Lower 

Up])er 

Lower 

Upper 

Lower 

Araucaria 

.045- 

.02(;- 

bedwini 

0 

.0()4  mm. 

0 

.0.')2  mm. 

0 

9-12  i)er  scp  mm. 

Finns 

.045- 

.045- 

.o:J2- 

.o:{2- 

slrobus 

.054  mm. 

.054  mm. 

.0.‘>8  mm. 

.o:>8  mna. 

9-17 

9-10  p.es  s(i.  mm. 

Sequoia 

.048- 

.020- 

gigantca 

0 

.0()1  mm. 

0 

.0:’>8  mm. 

0 

8-10  per  scp  mm. 

Petula 

.029- 

.018- 

alba 

0 

.Oib)  mm. 

0 

.024  mm. 

0 

24  per  sq.  mm. 

Corda- 

.045- 

.017- 

ites 

0 

.0()1  mm. 

0 

.o:>8  mm. 

0 

4-7  i)er  s([.  mm. 

On  most  of  the  cePs  there  occurs  an  iinicePular  trichome.  In  many 
cases  these  have  l)ecome  torn  from  the  leaf,  leaving  the  round  holes 
])rominent  on  the  surface.  The  trichomes  are  simply  extrusions  of 
the  epidermal  cell  and  show  no  septation.  ddieir  shaj^e  varies  from 
clnh-like  to  long-  triangular.  See  hdg.  4 (d),  7 (a)  and  (S. 


Eig.  7.  Trichomes,  magnified  180  diameters. 


Fig.  8.  Surface  of  leaf.  a.  epidermal  cell.  b.  trichome.  c.  hole  in  leaf. 

As  mentioned  above,  there  are  jdaces  on  the  epidermis  where  the 
cells  are  arranged  in  radiate  form  with  an  opening  into  the  interior 
of  the  leaf.  While  it  is  not  jiossible  to  state  the  exact  nature  of  the 
structure  it  is  quite  probable  that  they  are  epidermal  glands.  They 
compare  closely  with  those  on  modern  ])lants,  as  can  he  seen  in 
figures  9 and  10.  In  each  there  is  an  outer  cell  covering. 


98 


NEBRASKA  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 


As  can  be  seen  in  the  figure  11,  there  is  a single  glandular  cell 
covering  the  epidermal  cells  and  a - small  opening  into  the  interior. 
Haherlandt  says  of  these  glands,  “Many  of  our  native  plants  are  pro- 
vided with  organs  which  secrete  water  in  the  liquid  form.  Such 
hydathodes  are  even  more  widely  distributed  among  plants  inhabiting 
the  humid  tropics.”  During  the  Carboniferous  age  there  would 
apparently  be  greater  necessity  for  them  than  at  present  and  it  is 
highly  probable  that  the  above  structures  are  indeed  hydathodes. 


Fig.  9 


Eig.  9.  Calycanthus  glaiiciis.  After  Solereder.  a.  epidermal  cell.  b.  gland 
opening,  c.  cell  covering  gland. 

I'ig.  10.  Cordaites.  a.  epidermal  cells,  b.  gland  opening,  c.  cell  covering 
gland. 


a 


b 


Fig.  II.  TTydatbode.  magnified  180  diameters,  a.  cover  cell.  b.  opening  into 
leaf. 


If  we  compare  this  Cordaitan  leaf  with  other  Carboniferous  leaves 
such  as  those  described  by  Miss  W ills  in  the  Geological  Magazine  for 
Se|)tember,  1914,  we  find  great  similarity.  She  says,  speaking  of  a 
Cordaitan  cuticle  from  the  Carboniferous  of  England,  “Cells  tbick 


CARRONTFEROUS  EPIDERMIS 


9!) 


walled,  rectangular,  and  elongated.  Stomata  small.  There  occur 
circular  structures  on  the  leaves  whose  function  is  unknown.”  This 
description  is  similar  to  that  of  the  ])lant  under  discussion.  See 
Figs.  12,  13,  14. 


Fig.  12  Fig.  13  Fig.  14 

Fig.  12.  Cordaites.  After  Miss  Wills. 

Fig.  13.  Cyclopetris.  After  Miss  Wills. 

Fig.  14.  Neiiropteris  heterophylla.  After  Miss  Wills. 

The  shape  and  structure  of  the  stomata  is  also  similar,  as  may  be 
seen  above,  yet  it  differs  markedly  from  those  of  the  stomata  of 
Cyclopteris  and  Neiiropteris  described  by  the  same  author.  This  is 
true  not  only  of  the  stomata  but  of  the  shape  and  arrangement  of  the 
cells. 

On  the  other  hand,  if  we  compare  the  Cordaitan  leaf  with  that  of 
modern  types  we  find  a marked  dift'erence  between  it  and  any  living 
plant  in  the  shape  and  arrangement  of  the  parts  of  the  stomata. 
Various  types  of  stomata  in  modern  jilants  are  sketched  in  Figs.  15-21. 
If  these  are  compared  with  figure  5 a decided  difference  will  he 
noted,  particularly  in  the  surface  view.  In  the  transverse  section  these 
are  similar  to  the  stomata  of  water  plants,  as  may  he  observed  by  com- 
paring figure  5 with  figure  21. 


Fig.  15.  Pteris  type.  a.  epidermal  cell.  b.  guard  cell.  c.  subsidiar}^  cell. 
After  DeBary. 

Fig.  16.  Piniis  type.  a.  guard  cell.  b.  subsidiary  cell. 

Fig.  17.  Poa  type.  After  Flaberlandt. 


100 


NEBRASKA  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 


Fig.  19. 


Fig.  18 


Fig.  19 


Fig.  IS.  Liliaceous  type. 

Riibiaceous  type  after  Solereder.  a.  guard  cell.  b.  subsidiary  cell. 


Fig.  21 


Fig.  20.  Cruciferous  type  after  Solereder. 
Fig.  21.  Transverse  section  of  Alsopbila.  Aquatic  plant, 
tion  after  Haberlandt. 


Transverse  sec- 


we  compare  figures  15  to  21  with  5 and  6 we  find  that  the 
surface  views  show  a decided  difference  between  them,  in  that  the 
snbsidary  cells  are  dillerently  arranged  or  are  wanting. 

If  we  compare  the  transverse  sections  we  find  a marked  similarity 
between  the  stomata  of  water  plants  and  Cordaites.  The  arrangement 
of  the  guard  cells  and  those  immediately  surrounding  them  are  similar. 
The  type  of  stomata  developed  by  this  conifer  is  entirely  diffierent 
from  that  of  any  living  plant. 

Tittle  light  can  be  thrown  upon  the  question  of  the  climatic  con- 
ditions of  that  time,  for  the  paucity  of  the  stomata,  the  presence  of 
subsidiary  cells,  and  hairs  suggest  xeroidiilous  conditions,  but  the 
absence  of  secondary  thickening,  the  shape  of  the  guard  cells  and  the 
})resence  of  hydathodes,  would  suggest  a very  wet  or  comparatively 
moist  climate.  From  other  sources  we  learn  that  the  climate  must 
have  been  very  different  from  that  of  today:  humidity  and  the 
amount  of  carbon  dioxide  in  the  atmos|)here  were  both  greater.  W’e 


C A R r>  ( ) N 1 1- E R ( ) U S E P 1 1 ) E R M 1 S 


101 


are  unable  to  ascertain  what  changes  ini^lit  lake  place  in  the  stomata 
of  modern  plants  if  the  carbon  dioxide  in  the  atmosphere  were  to 
increase  fourfold  and  ecpial  that  of  Carboniferous  times.  It  is  lik-ely 
that  the  climatic  conditions  of  that  time  and  the  fact  that  the  plants 
])robably  grew  in  salt  marshes  ex])lain  the  anomalous  character  of  the 
plant  tissue. 

It  is  desired  to  express  acknowledgments  to  13octors  Barbour  and 
Pool  and  to  Mr.  Sears  for  their  assistance. 

niBLIOGRAPlIY 

Miss  Lucy  W ills,  “Some  Carboniferous  Plant  Cuticles,'’  Geol.  ^lag. 
Sept.  1914. 

M.  R.  Zeiller,  Ann.  des  Sci.  Nat.  S,  6.  t.  XI  IT. 

Grand  ’Eury,  Ann.  des  Mines,  Series  (S.  t.  I. 

B.  I4enault,  “Cours  de  botanique  fossile.” 

J.  Auermach  et  H.  Trautschold,  Nouveaux  Memoires  de  la  Soc.  imp. 

des  naturalistes  de  Mocsow,  t.  XII.  liv.  I.  lcS60. 

Goeppert,  Sitzungsber  d.  k.  byaer  Akad.  o.  W'issenschaften  zu  Muen- 
chen.  1861. 

Bull,  de  la  Soc.  botani(iue  de  France,  t.  XXXGT. 

Seward,  “Fossil  Plants,”  \A1.  I.  p\).  68. 

Among  the  books  on  modern  i)lants  the  following  have  i)roven  most 
helpful : 

Haberlandl,  “IMiysiological  Plant  Anatomy.’' 

Solereder,  “Systematic  Anatomy  of  the  Dicotyledons.’' 

DeBary,  “Comparative  Anatomy  of  the  Phanerogams  and  I^erns.’' 


d'he  University  of  Nebraska 
Lincoln,  February  2,  1916 


Distributed  March  30,  1916 


59 

NI^BRASKA  (\Ki)\A  )(ilCAL  SURVl^Y 
X'oLUMK  7,  Part  15 


r 


BARITE  “DOl.LARS”  FROM  FRANKIJN  COUNTY, 
NEBRASKA 

BY  J.  B.  BURNETT 

I'lie  Barite  concretions  to  which  the  following-  ])ara^ra])hs  are 
devoted  were  found  on  the  south  side  of  the  Repiihlican  River  ot)po- 
site  Bloomington.  Here  they  have  weathered  ont  of  the  Graneros 
shale  and  are  scattered  alx)nt  the  hills  where  this  formation  is  ex- 
posed. They  were  first  recognized,  collected,  and  named  by  Dr.  1C  If. 
Barbour  in  the  summer  of  1910. 

The  writer  has  made  a study  of  these  forms  from  the  chemical 
and  physical  standpoints,  the  results  of  which  will  he  found  h^low. 
Before  going  into  a detailed  discussion  of  these  forms  it  might  he 
well  to  give  a few  of  the  properties  of  barite ; also  its  mode  of  occur- 
rence and  deposition,  as  well  as  its  ])rinciple  uses. 

Barite,  commonly  known  as  heavy  spar  on  account  of  its  com])ara- 
tively  high  specific  gravity  (4.5),  is  the  sulphuric  acid  salt  of  barium. 
It  is  i)ractically  insoluble  in  all  acids  and  water.  In  the  latter  it 
dissolves  to  the  extent  of  one  part  to  eight  hundred-thousand  parts. 
Thus  it  is  less  soluble  than  the  sulidiates  of  either  lead,  calcium,  or 
strontium.  For  this  reason  when  a barium-hearing  solution  comes  in 
contact  with  either  anglesite,  anhydrite,  or  celestite,  the  barium  at  once 
l)egins  to  take  uj)  the  acid  radical  and  the  lead,  calcium,  or  strontium  is 
carried  away  in  solution,  leaving  the  insolul)le  barite  l)ehind.  Barite  is 
isomorphous  with  anhydrite  and  celestite,  all  three  minerals  occurring 
in  the  orthorhombic  system  of  crystallization.  The  crystals  have 
varying  colors,  such  as  white,  gray,  yellow,  brown,  or  red,  according 
to  the  impurities  which  they  contain.  An  absolutely  pure  barite 
crystal  is  colorless  and  transparent. 

On  being  heated  before  the  blowpipe,  barite  often  decrepitates, 
then  wdiitens,  and  finally  fuses  at  about  three,  coloring  the  flame  a 
light  green.  The  crystals  are  usually  tabular,  ])arallel  to  the  base. 
1'he  ])erfect  cleavages  are  parallel  to  the  unit  prism  and  the  h axis. 
I'hese  are  usually  to  be  observed,  and  serve  to  orient  the  crystal. 
They  are  also  ekaigate,  in  habit,  parallel  to  the  hrachy-axis;  again 
jjarallel  to  the  macro-axis,  l)ut  rarely  are  the  crystals  elongated  ])arallel 


I0() 


NEBRASKA  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 


lo  the  vertical  axis.  Parallel  growths  are  common  when  the  crystals 
are  tabular  in  habit.  1 hey  are  joined  at  the  base,  sometimes  yielding 
a cock's-comb-like  surface,  or  radiated  with  deep  re-entrant  angles 
se])arating  the  crystals. 

Barite  is  a secondary  mineral  occurring  in  veins,  and  in  association 
with  sedimentary  rocks.  In  veins  it  occurs  as  a gangue  mineral, 
especially  with  galena,  spahlerite,  and  other  sulphides  where  it  has 
doubtlessly  been  precipitated  from  solution  by  the  action  of  the  oxida- 
tion ])roducts  of  the  sulphides.  It  occurs  also  in  lenticular  deposits 
in  residual  clays  overlying  limestones.  These  deposits  have  probably 
been  formed  by  the  rei)lacement  of  the  latter.  Such  occurrences 
are  found  in  Washington  County,  Missouri.  It  is  often  found  as  a 
secondary  mineral  in  cavities  of  limestone  and  sometimes  replaces 
fossils.  Beautiful  crystals  of  barite  are  found  on  the  walls  of  lead 
mines  of  Cornwall ; they  occur  also  in  cavities  of  dolomite  in  the 
iron  mines  of  West  Cumberland,  Ifngland.  Barite  sometimes  acts 
as  the  cementing  material  in  sandstones  where  it  must  have  been 
formed  by  a double  decomposition.  That  is  to  say  that  some  soluble 
barium  compound  came  in  contact  with  some  soluble  sulphate  which 
was  acting  as  the  cementing  material.  The  result  was  that  both  com- 
])ounds  were  broken  down,  the  barium  taking  on  the  sulphuric  acid 
radical,  dims  an  insoluble  salt  was  formed,  d'his  rei)laced  the  more 
soluble  material  which  had  previously  acted  as  the  cementing  agent. 
Barite  is  found  about  some  springs  in  the  form  of  sinter,  and  in  pipes 
in  mines,  where  it  has  been  deposited  from  mine  waters. 

'khis  mineral  is  used  in  tbe  manufacture  of  ])aint  as  a substitute 
for  white  lead,  as  a hller  for  paper,  and  a source  of  barium  salts. 
Owing  to  its  insolubility,  it  is  also  used  in  the  manufacture  of  rubber 
goods.  Banded  varieties  are  utilized  for  ornamenial  ])urposes. 

From  a chemical  analysis  of  the  Barite  “Dollars,”  the  following 
comjKiunds  were  found  to  be  present  in  the  i)ercentages  here  given : 


Barium  sulphate  (BaS04) 89.89% 

Hydrated  ferric  oxide  (2l'ei>():{;)H20) 7.94% 

Silica  (SiOi')  1.63% 

Water  (H^O)  52% 

-Vlumina  (Al^O.!)  trace 

Manganese  (probably  as  MnOi>) trace 


99.98% 


BARTTE  “DOLT.ARS”  FROM  ERANKTJN  COUNTY 


10? 


The  iron  content  varies  consi(leral)ly  in  different  s])ecimens.  This 
variation  ranges  from  5.42  to  S.31  per  cent  and  results  from  the 
incom])lete  replacement  hy  the  barium  salt.  This  can  he  readily  seen 
in  the  photomicrograph  of  the  cross-section  of  the  concretion,  the 
dark  jiatches  representing  the  nnrejilaced  iron.  This  is  well  shown  in 
figures  3,  5,  6.  An  exceptionally  large  ])atch  of  iron  oxide  is  shown 
in  figure  1,  a photomicrograph  of  a transverse  section.  This  varia- 
tion in  the  iron  content  has  a corresponding  effect  on  the  anioimt  of 
harium  sulphate  present  which  varies  aiiproxiniately  in  the  same 
relative  limits  as  iron  oxide.  The  tabulated  analysis  given  above  was 
obtained  from  grinding  several  specimens  together  nnd  taking  a uni- 
form sample  of  the  mixture  thus  obtained.  It  no  doubt  rejiresents 
the  average  contents  of  the  concretions  taken  as  a whole.  The  silica 


Fig.  1.  A large  particle  of  hydrated  ferric  oxide,  magnified  .50  diameter.s. 

occurs  as  minute  inclusions  in  the  iron  ])atches.  The  alumina  and 
manganese  occur  as  impurities,  there  being  only  a very  small 
fjuantity  of  the  last  two  present. 

The  physical  properties  are  as  follows : color,  dark  gray,  hardness 
about  2.5,  and  specific  gravity  ranging  from  4.05  to  4.22.  This  varia- 
tion, of  course,  is  due  to  the  varying  quantity  of  barium  present. 

The  concretions  are  round  and  disc-shaped,  ranging  from  1.1  cm. 
to  7.5  cm  in  diameter,  and  from  2.5  mm.  to  12  mm.  in  thickness. 
Upon  examining  an  unbroken  concretion,  rows  of  crystals  are  seen 
to  radiate  from  a center  as  illustrated  by  figure  2,  nos.  1 and  4. 
A broken  s]:)ecimen  shows  that  the  crystal  growth  is  normal  to  the 
surface  of  a median  disc  composed  of  ferruginous  matter  and  liarium 


108 


NEBRASKA  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 


1 


4 5 6 

Fig.  3.  Barite  “Dollars”  from  the  Graneroiis  shale,  natural  size. 

sulphate.  Closer  examination  of  a cross-section  shows  that  the 
crystals  are  arranged  in  cock’s-coinh-like  order  about  a central  axis, 
ddiis  axis  is  partly  ainor])hous  and  partly  crystalline  as  shown  by  the 
])olariscope.  This  crystalline  matter  in  the  median  zone  is  barium 
sul])hate.  The  amorphous  matter  in  some  specimens  is  almost  wholly 
hydrated  ferric  oxide.  In  others,  it  seems  to  be  predominately 
barium  sulphate  with  a subordinate  quantity  of  iron  oxide.  In  the 
photomicrographs  of  the  cross-section  the  entire  central  zone  appears 
dark.  This  is  due  in  part  to  the  ferric  oxide  present  and  partly  to 
the  fact  that  the  amorphous  matter  transmits  only  a small  amount  of 
light  as  compared  with  the  crystalline,  Figs.  3,  5,  6. 


BARITE  “DOLLARS"  FROM  FRANKLIN  COUNTY 


109 


Many  shales  are  known  to  contain  niarcasite  ‘‘dollars”  which  have 
the  identical  shape  and  form  of  those  under  discussion.  It  is  there- 
fore quite  probable  that  these  concretions  have  been  formed  by  a 
simple  process  of  replacement.  Percolating-  waters  carrying  barium, 
either  in  the  form  of  the  hi-carhonate  or  the  chloride  have  come  in 
contact  with  forms  of  iron  sul])hide  in  the  process  of  oxidation  and 
the  products  of  oxidation  were  ferrous  sulphate  and  sulphuric  acid 
( FeS^+704-Ho()=FeS()^+LUS()^ ).  These  compounds  acted  as 
the  precipitating  agents  according  to  the  following  eciuation : 
2HaH^(C(  )..).,+FeS()_^+H.,S(),=2BaSO^+  FeH.,(C( )..  )^+2H.,( ) 

“ +2CO, 

Idle  jirocess  of  replacement  was  probably  very  slow  and  the  cock's- 
comb  structure  of  the  marcasite  has  generally  been  retained.  Perfect 


Fig.  4.  Section,  showing  barite  psendoniorphs  after  marcasite,  magnilied  100 
diameters. 

crystals  are  not  found  because  of  intergrowth  in  the  process  of 
development.  In  many  places  the  growth  of  the  crystals  is  convergent 
toward  a common  point  from  which  the  marcasite  crystals  originally 
grew.  The  tendency  toward  convergence  is  probably  due  to  the  fact 
that  in  the  original  marcasite  form,  the  interstices,  as  shown  in  any 
of  the  cross-sections,  were  probably  filled  with  ferric  oxide,  ddiis 
was  due  to  the  partial  oxidation  of  the  marcasite  jirior  to  the  a])])ear- 
ance  of  the  barium-hearing  solutions,  and  that  only  the  unaltered 
’ portions  of  i the  crystals  furnished  the  precipitating  agent.  Conse- 
quently, as  the  jirocess  of  rejilacement  proceeded,  the  barite  assumed 
the  form  of  the  marcasite  crystals.  In  some  specimens  the  replace- 
ment seems  to  have  been  arrested  for  a time  and  then  to  have  con- 


110 


NEBRASKA  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 


b 

a 


d 

c 


Fig.  5.  Portion  of  a cross  section  of  a second  example,  a.  central  zone  of 
hydrated  ferric  oxide  and  barium  sulphate,  b.  secondary  crystal  growth,  c. 
ferruginous  parting,  d.  primary  crystal  growth. 

tinned  later.  The  layers  of  crystals  are  separated  by  a thin  parting 
of  ferruginous  matter.  This  is  shown  in  figure  5.  It  is  probably  due 
to  the  fact  that  the  barium-bearing  solutions  were  diverted  to  other 
channels  for  a time,  thus  allowing  oxidation  to  take  place  in  the 
presence  of  more  soluble  salts  such  as  those  of  sodium  or  calcium. 
In  the  subsequent  reactions  the  sulphuric  acid  radical  was  carried 
away  by  sodium  or  calcium  as  Cdauber’s  salt,  or  calcium  sulphate,  leav- 
ing the  iron  in  the  form  of  the  carbonate.  This,  upon  the  loss  of  carbon 
dioxide,  left  the  oxide  behind.  Later  the  barium  solutions  reap- 


Fig.  h.  Portion  of  a cross-section  showing  branched  central  zone. 


I’.AklTK  "DOLLARS”  J^’ROM  I^RANKIJN  COUNTY 


111 


Reared  and  the  i)rocess  of  replacement  ])roceeded  until  the  central 
disc  was  reached.  Here  crystallization,  in  ])erhaps  the  majority  of 
cases,  seems  to  have  stopped  almost  completely  as  there  are  but  few 
traces  of  crystalline  matter  in  this  part  of  the  concretion.  1'his  may 
be  attributed  to  two  causes.  The  central  disc  of  the  marcasite 
“dollar”  may  have  been  in  the  form  of  the  oxide,  thus  furnishing  no 
])recipitating  agent,  or  the  barium-bearing  solutions  may  have  been 
diverted  to  other  channels.  The  hrst  mentioned  cause  seems  api)lica- 
ble  to  concretions  in  which  the  central  zone  consists  almost  entirely 
of  iron  oxide  with  very  little  barium  sulphate.  In  the  case  of  those 
concretions  where  the  central  zone  is  chiefly  barium  sulphate,  the 
lack  of  even  very  small,  well-developed  crystals  is  ])robably  due  to 
the  fact  that  the  central  mass  of  the  marcasite  concretion  was  in  a 
crytocrystalline  or  finely  divided  crystalline  state.  Thus  it  was 
oxidized  more  rapidly  than  the  larger  crystals  and  furnished  the 
precipitating  agent  so  rapidly  that  the  barium  sulpbate  did  not  have 
an  opportunity  to  become  well  i crystallized.  This  may  also  explain 
the  fact  that  this  part  of  the  concretion,  taking  into  consideration  its 
relative  volume,  contains  a higher  ])ercentage  of  iron  oxide  than  the 
rest.  The  oxidation  and  precipitation  took  place  so  rapidly  that  some 
of  the  iron  carbonate  thus  formed  was  not  allowed  to  escai)e  and 
subsequently  became  ferric  oxide.  Another  factor  entering  into  the 
explanation  of  the  high  percentage  of  iron  concentrated  along  the 
central  part  of  the  concretion,  is  that  the  growth  was  centri])etal. 
Thus,  as  replacement  continued,  the  chance  for  escape  of  the  iron  be- 
came steadily  less.  As  a result  there  was  a greater  o])portunity  for 
the  bi-carbonate  to  be  converted  into  the  oxide  and  to  be  occluded  in 
the  mass  of  the  crystals. 

Aside  from  the  central  zone,  the  concretion  is  made  up  of  fairly 
well  defined  crystals.  Barite  and  marcasite  occur  in  the  same  forms 
of  the  orthorhombic  system  of  crystallization  and  the  only  change 
which  took  place  in  the  process  of  replacement  was  a chemical  one. 

University  of  Nebraska  Distributed  April  1 5,  1916 

Lincoln,  February  1,  1916 

Note — Since  writing  the  alwve  paper,  the  author  has  found  large  ironstone 
concretions  occurring  in  the  Dakota  clays  at  Burnham,  Nel)raska.  In  these  the 
occurrence  of  marcasite  and  pyrite  with  barite  seems  to  support  the  above  theory 
in  regard  to  the  origin  of  the  barite  concretions.  An  account  of  these  will  be 
given  in  a paper  to  follow. 


7 


(t> 


M'/ 


60 

NEBRASKA  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 
VOLUMF  7,  PA.RT  16 


CERTAIN  DAKOTA  CONCRETIONS  AND  THEIR  MINERAL 

CONTE.NTS' 

By  Jerome  B.  Burnett 

The  Dakota  clays  at  Burnham,  Nel)raska,  are  found  to  contain  a 
large  number  of  clay  ironstone,  and  clay  concretions  (Fig.  1).  Some 
of  these  are  found  at  the  base  of  a five-foot  layer  of  sandstone  where 
the  latter  grades  into  the  underlying  clays.  The  others  occur  in  a 
clay  bed  about  twenty-five  feet  lower  in  the  section  (Fig.  1).  The 
forms  from  the  upper  layer  are  highly  stained  with  ferric  oxide 
whereas  those  from  the  lower  clay  stratum  show  little  or  no  staining. 
Both  forms  are,  however,  of  the  same  general  type  of  concretion ; 
that  is,  they  were  formed  at  the  same  time  as  the  sediments  and  will 
be  described  later  on. 

The  following  is  an  extract  from  Grabau’s  “Principles  of  Strati- 
graphy’' : “Concretions  are  aggregations  of  mineral  matter  which 
grow  by  addition  internally,  externally,  or  interstitially.  From  the 
viewpoint  of  their  origin  and  relationshi])  to  the  enclosing  rocks,  two 
types  are  to  be  distinguished : ( 1 ) those  forming  as  contemporaneous 
accumulations,  afterward  buried  by  clastic  or  other  strata,  and  (2) 
those  forming  in  the  strata  after  their  deposition.  This  second  grou]) 
clearly  belongs  to  secondary  structures  of  rocks. 

“Concretions  of  calcium  carbonate,  of  barite,  of  manganese,  and 
concretions  composed  of  fragmental  material  cemented  together  l)y 
phosphate  of  lime,  are  among  the  first  group  forming  at  the  present 
time.  These  forms  constitute  the  uppermost  layer  of  the  lithosphere 
of  the  deep  sea,  and  they  are  gradually  buried  by  the  accumulation 
of  fine  muds.  Not  infrequently  they  constitute  the  foundation  on 
Avhich  corals  or  other  sedentary  benthonic  organisms  gain  a foothold, 
and  such  a concretion  in  moderately  deep  water  may  serve  as  a 
nucleus  about  which  a coral  reef  is  built  up.  Chemically  formed 
oolites  and  pisolites  should  be  considered  under  contemporaneous 
concretions. 

“The  secondarily  formed  concretions,  or  those  growing  in  the 
strata  and  of  later  age,  are  represented  by  clay  ironstone  concretions 


^“Barite  ‘Dollars’  from  Franklin  County,”  together  with  this  paper  were  sub- 
mitted to  the  Department  of  Geology  as  undergraduate  theses. 


114 


NEBRASKA  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 


so  characteristic  of  the  clay  and  shale  beds,  and  readily  recognized 
as  belonging  to  the  secondary  type  by  the  fact  that  the  stratification 
lines  are  seen  to  pass  through  them.” 

W hether  the  formation  of  the  concretions  was  contemporaneous 
or  subsequent  to  the  deposition  of  the  beds  is  a matter  which  is 
usually  solved  with  little  difficulty.  In  practically  all  cases  there 
seems  to  be  one  point  in  common,  namely,  a nucleus  about  which 
the  particles  of  mineral  matter  gradually  accumulate. 

In  the  type  which  was  formed  subsequently  to  the  deposition  of 


Fig.  1. — View  of  day  pit  at  Burnham,  Nebr.,  with  section  showing  where 
concretions  were  found. 


the  strata  in  which  they  occur,  the  precipitating  agent  seems  to  have 
emanated  from  a nucleus  of  some  sort.  In  general  many  concretions 
have  as  their  nuclei  bits  of  organic  matter,  such  as  leaves,  small 
bones,  or  some  animal  form,  for  example  a mollusk,  crustacean,  or 
fish.  In  such  instances  the  decomposition  of  organic  matter 
seems  to  have  furnished  the  atmosphere  which  caused  the  precipita- 
tion and  deposition  c:)f  mineral  matter  about  the  res])ective  nuclei. 
In  other  cases  the  same  result  has  been  accomplished  through  the 
decomposition  of  inorganic  matter,  such  as  suli)hides.  Many  sul- 
phates are  insoluble  to  any  appreciable  extent  in  water.  Thus  con- 
cretions of  barite,  gypsum,  celestite,  or  anglesite  would  be  readily 
formed  if  percolating  waters  carrying  barium,  calcium,  strontium,  or 


DAKOTA  CONCRETIONS 


115 


lead  in  solution  were  to  come  in  contact  with  some  sulphide  in  the 
process  of  oxidation.  Concretions  of  epigenetic  formation  are  gen- 
erally recognizable  by  the  fact  that  their  exterior  form  conforms  in  a 
general  way  to  the  stratification  and  lamination  ])lanes  of  the  surround- 
ing beds. 

The  tyjie  which  is  formed  contem]K)raneously  with  the  (le])osition 
of  the  surrounding  sediments  has  a similar  origin  but  develops  under 
different  conditions.  Here  again  the  ])articles  may  collect  about  some 
foreign  body.  Very  often,  however,  it  is  a matter  of  like  attracting 
like.  The  concretions  found  at  Iffirnham,  Nebraska,  may  be  said 
to  belong  to  the  syngenetic  ty])e,  for  they  were  formed  at  the  same 
time  the  clays  were  laid  down.  The  nuclei  about  which  they  formed 
have  been  completely  obliterated.  The  once  continuous  mass  has 
dried  and  the  interior  shrunk,  leaving  a large  cavity  with  no 
trace  of  the  nucleus  or  any  clue  to  its  sjiecific  nature.  In  this  case 
it  is  safe  to  say  that  the  nucleus  was  some  inorganic  body,  which 
upon  decomposition  furnished  no  hydrogen  suljihide.  For  had  it 
been  of  an  organic  nature  hydro-suljihuric  acid  would  almost  certainly 


have  been  given  off  and  this  would  have  resulted  in  the  formation  of 
iron  sulphide  in  the  matrix  of  the  concretion.  Chemical  and  micro- 
scopic examinations  have  not  shown  this  to  be  the  case. 

During  the  development  of  these  concretions  there  seems  to  have 
been  at  least  two,  and  probably  three,  periods  during  which  the  clays 
contained  an  abundance  of  water.  In  the  first  period,  while  the 


116 


NEBRASKA  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 


Dakota  Sea  still  covered  these  regions,  the  concretions  assumed  their 
general  exterior  form  (Fig.  2).  During  the  following  time-interval 
these  concretions  dried  and  the  inner  parts  shrank,  leaving  the  irregular 
cavities  (Fig.  3).  At  about  this  time  the  siderite  was  deposited.  Fol- 
lowing this  came  the  second  h.umid  period  when  the  organic  matter 
was  decomposed  and  the  sulphides  were  deposited.  Then  the  concre- 


Fig.  3. — Broken  concretion  showing  irregular  interior  cavity. 

tions  seem  to  have  dried  out  again.  Finally  we  come  to  the  last  stage 
in  the  mineralization  of  these  forms.  This  was  a relatively  moist 
period  during  which  the  barite  and  kaolinite  were  deposited.  This  last 
interval  we  may  assume  to  be  the  jtresent  one. 

The  epoch  from  the  incipient  formation  of  the  concretions  to  the 
well-developed  forms  containing  the  different  minerals,  probably  rep- 
resents a considerable  lapse  of  time.  The  drying  of  the  concretions 
was  centripetal — that  is,  they  dried  from  the  outside  inward;  hence 
the  outer  shell  was  formed  first.  Then  as  desiccation  continued  the 
interior  shrank,  leaving  a large,  irregular,  ramifying  cavity  (Fig.  3). 
To  account  for  this  we  must  assume  that  the  sediments  in  which  the 
concretions  are  found  must  have  comjfietely  dried  out  at  some  period. 
This  in  itself  would  have  required  an  extended  period  of  time,  for 
durable  changes  in  humidity  do  not  take  place  rapidly.  These  come 
about  very  slowly,  usually  endure  a long  time,  and  then  are  gradually 
followed  by  different  conditions.  Such  neriods  probably  cannot  be 
computed  in  terms  of  less  than  millions  of  years. 

It  is  obvious  that  the  plant  remains  which  are  found  in  these  clays 
did  not  undergo  decomposition  to  any  extent  until  the  second  period  in 


DAKOTA  CONCRETIONS 


117 


which  the  clays  were  saturated  with  water.  This  was  a period  during 
which  hydrogen  sulphide  was  liberated  and  carried  in  solution  into 
the  interior  of  the  concretions.  Here  it  acted  upon  the  iron,  forming 
marcasite  or  pyrite.  Idle  included  iron  was  first  deposited  in  the 
form  of  siderite.  Later  on,  when  the  hydrogen  sulphide  appeared, 
it  acted  upon  and  replaced  part  of  the  carbonate.  It  does  not  seem 
reasonable  to  assume  that  the  iron  was  carried  into  the  concretion 
subsequent  to  its  initial  drying.  Had  such  been  the  case,  some  of  the 


Fig.  4. — Portion  of  concretion  showing  marcasite  vein  filling. 

iron  would  have  lodged  in  the  matrix  and  probably  would  have  been 
acted  upon  by  the  hydrogen  sulphide  to  form  pyrite  or  marcasite. 
None  of  these  minerals,  however,  have  been  found  in  this  part  of 
the  concretion.  From  this  it  seems  probable  that  the  nucleus  was 
some  ferruginous  body.  This  is  at  least  the  case  with  those  forms 
found  at  the  base  of  the  lower  clay  beds.  The  waters  in  which  the 
bluish-gray  concretions  were  formed  probably  carried  very  little  iron 
in  solution.  This  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  the  matrix  contains  very 
little  of  this  element. 

In  regard  to  the  highly  stained  concretions  at  the  base  of  the 
upper  layer,  we  may  safely  say  that  they  were  colored  subsequent 
to  their  formation,  for  a cross-section  shows  the  outermost  portion  to 
be  most  heavily  stained.  The  inner  portion  becomes  less  and  less 
stained  until  the  interior  cavity  is  reached.  Here  the  matrix  is 
markedly  discolored  by  the  iron  which  originally  acted  as  the  nucleus. 


118 


NEBRASKA  geological  SURVEV 


The  manner  in  which  the  concretions  are  stained  seems  to  bear  out 
the  theory  that  there  were  several  periods  during  which  the  clays 
dried  out.  These  were  followed  by  more  humid  times  when  the 
percolating  water  contained  a great  quantity  of  iron  in  solution.  It 
is  even  probable  that  the  .iron-bearing  solutions  did  not  appear  till 
late  in  the  Cretaceous  period.  The  sandstone  bed  is  uniformly  dis- 
colored with  ferric  oxide,  but  this  could  have  been  easily  accomplished 
by  subsequent  percolation  of  water.  So  there  seems  to  be  little  evi- 
dence to  show  that  the  waters  were  highly  charged  with  iron  even  at 
the  time  of  the  deposition  of  this  bed.  The  depth  of  the  staining  in 
the  concretions  does  not  grade  from  a uniformly  deep  red  on  the 
outside  to  a light  brown  or  yellow  on  the  inner  portions,  but  there 
seem  to  be  distinct  divisions  between  the  successive  bands  of  coloring 
matter.  The  outside  layer  is  usually  about  a centimeter  in  thickness. 
This  is  the  darkest  in  color.  Following  this  is  a paler  brown  layer, 
then  a yellowish-gray  band.  Thus  it  would  appear  that  there  were 
three  distinct  periods  when  the  waters  were  highly  charged  with 


Eig.  5. — Large  cluster  of  marcasite  crystals. 

iron.  The  periods  during  which  the  waters  carried  considerable  quan- 
tities of  iron  were  probably  not  of  great  duration.  This  is  shown  not 
only  by  the  fact  that  the  concretions  from  the  base  of  the  sandstone 
layer  are  not  wholly  discolored  by  the  iron  but  also  by  the  fact  that 


tlAKOTA  CONCRETIONS; 


no 


for  a depth  of  more  than  nineteen  feet,  the  underlying  clays  are  not 
mottled.  Below  this  the  clays  are  of  a uniform  dark  blnish-gray 
color.  That  the  occurrence  of  large  (juantities  of  iron  was  subse- 
quent to  the  deposition  of  the  clay  beds,  and  the  formation  of  the 
concretions,  is  plainly  shown  by  the  mottled  coloration  of  the  upi)er 
clays.  If  the  waters  in  which  the  clays  were  laid  down  had  carried 
much  iron  we  would  find  the  beds  uniformly  colored. 

After  the  siderite  and  i)yrite  or  marcasite  had  been  formed  there 
seems  to  have  been  another  period  during  which  the  concretions  dried 


Fig.  6. — Small  clusters  of  marcasite  crystals. 

out  again,  or  at  least  a period  when  the  mineral  content  of  the  per- 
colating water  was  considerably  changed,  for  during  the  following 
time-interval  the  waters  carried  barium  in  solution.  Conditions  were 
then  oxidizing  instead  of  reducing,  as  they  had  been  during  the 
deposition  of  the  iron  sulphide  and  carbonate.  T'he  dissolved  oxygen 
acted  upon  the  sulphides  forming  ferrous  suljthate  and  sulphuric 
acid,  (FeS.>-j--7(  )=F'eS(  . 

The  order  of  deposition  of  the  contained  minerals  was  siderite, 
pyrite  or  marcasite,  barite,  and  finally  kaolinite.  The  surface  of  the 
interior  is  drusy  with  crystals  of  iron  carbonate.  They  are  in  the 
form  of  positive  and  negative  rhombohedrons.  The  latter,  upon 
being  examined  with  the  hand  lens,  appear  to  the  eye  to  be  small 
cubes.  This  is  explained  by  the  fact  that  the  interfacial  angles  of 
this  form  of  crystal  are  91°  42'  and  look  very  much  like  right  angles. 
In  the  concretions  from  the  bluish-gray  clays  these  crystals  are  but 
slightly  discolored  with  ferric  oxide.  They  range  from  transparent  to 


120 


NEBRASKA  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 


straw-yellow.  In  the  concretions  from  the  upper  layer  these  crystals 
are  highly  discolored.  Their  color  varies  from  a light  brown  to  a 
deep  brick-red.  This  shows  that  a relatively  greater  quantity  of  iron 
was  present  at  the  time  of  the  formation  of  these  concretions  than  at 
the  time  of  the  deposition  of  the  bluish-gray  clays.  During  the  second 
wet  interval,  when  the  decomposition  of  the  organic  matter  is  sup- 
posed to  have  taken  place,  the  waters  were  highly  charged  with  car- 
bon dioxide  and  some  hydrogen  sulphide.  We  may  assume  that  the 
free  carbonic  acid  acted  upon  the  siderite  forming  bi-carbonate.  This 
was  acted  upon  by  the  hydro-sulphuric  acid  present,  resulting  in  the 
formation  of  pyrite  or  marcasite  This  may  be  represented  by  the 
following  equation : 

FeH^  ( CO, ) 2+2H  ,S+0=FeS2+3H  ,0  + 200^. 

At  or  near  the  base  of  the  bluish-gray  clays,  where  we  find  numerous 
plant  remains,  the  iron  sulphide  usually  occurs  as  marcasite.  Under 


Fig.  7. — Interior  portion  of  concretion  from  lower  clay  bed  showing  clusters 
of  pyrite  crystals. 


such  conditions  we  would  expect  to  find  a greater  quantity  of  hydrogen 
sulphide  liberated,  a more  strongly  acid  solution,  and  the  general  re- 
sults which  follow  such  conditions.  The  iron  sulphide  crystals  found 
in  these  concretions  are  usually  in  the  orthorhombic  form,  marcasite. 
Experiments  have  shown  that  the  condition  necessary  for  the  deposi- 


DAKOTA  CONCRETIONS 


121 


tion  of  this  form  is  the  presence  of  a small  quantity  of  free,  strong 
acid  such  as  splphiiricC  Under  the  conditions  prevalent  considerable 
hydrogen  sulphide  was  being  given  off,  and  it  seems  safe  to  say  that 
there  was  some  free  sul])huric  acid  present.  The  marcasite  not  only 


Fig.  8. — Clusters  of  1)arite  crystals,  replacements  after  marcasite. 


fills  many  of  the  small  cracks  and  crevices  in  the  concretions  (Fig.  4), 
but  also  is  found  in  small  clusters  of  crystals,  usually  about  a centi- 
meter across  (Figs.  5 and  6). 

At  this  point  one  serious  objection  presents  itself.  In  the  partially 
decomposed  logs  found  at  the  base  of  the  bluish-gray  clays  we  often 
find  pyrite  instead  of  marcasite.  Here  we  would  expect  to  find  the 
greatest  relative  quantity  of  hydro-sulphuric  acid  and  the  solutions 
would  be  the  least  apt  to  be  neutral  or  only  slightly  acid.  These  last 
named  conditions  are  normally  those  under  which  ])yrite  is  su|)posed 
to  formC  The  only  conclusion  that  the  writer  is  able  to  draw  at  this 
point  is  either  that  pyrite  is  sometimes  formed  in  strongly  acidic  solu- 
tions, or  that  there  was  some  unknown  factor  entering  in,  which 
caused  the  solution  to  be  neutral  or  only  slightly  acidic.  Then  too, 
there  are  other  concretions  from  this  same  stratum  which  contain  the 


^Phillips’  Mineralogy. 


NEBRASKA  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 


1 22 

isometric  form,  pyrite,  instead  of  marcasite  (Fig.  7).  A full  explana- 
tion of  this  is  not  available  from  the  data  at  hand.  However,  the 
fact  remains  that  where  the  sulphide  occurs  as  marcasite  there  is 
relatively  a much  greater  quantity  of  it  present  than  there  is  in  those 
concretions  where  pyrite  is  found.  This  in  itself  shows  that  there 
was  a greater  quantity  of  hydrogen  sulphide  present  when  the  marca- 
site was  formed. 

The  pyrite  crystals  found  in  these  concretions  are  mostly  a bright 
brassy  yellow ; sometimes  iridescent  on  account  of  a thin  coating  of 
ferric  oxide.  The  crystal  forms  noted  were  the  cube,  a combination 
of  the  cube  and  octohedron,  and  the  cube  and  pyritohedron.  In  size  the 
crystals  vary  from  those  which  are  microscopic  to  larger  ones  having 
a diameter  of  several  millimeters. 

Farther  up  in  the  bed  where  there  are  few  plant  remains,  only  a 
small  quantity  of  hydrogen  sulphide  was  given  off,  and  the  concretions 
contain  only  siderite  and  kaolinite. 

As  previously  mentioned,  the  third  mineral  in  the  order  of  deposi- 
tion was  barite.  With  a single  exception,  all  the  concretions  in  which 
barite  occurs  are  found  near  the  base  of  the  sandstone  bed.  These 


Fig.  9. — Cluster  of  barite  crystals,  replacement  after  marcasite. 


concretions  have  been  stained  to  a deep  brick-red  by  percolating  waters 
carrying  iron  in  solution.  As  mentioned  above,  the  solutions  at  this 
time  were  oxidizing.  There  was  no  strong  reducing  agent  such  as 
hydrogen  sulphide  present.  Consequently  the  oxygen  in  the  water 
readily  acted  upon  the  iron  sulphide,  forming  ferrous  sulphate  and 
sulphuric  acid.  The  barium  was  probably  carried  in  the  form  of  the 
bi-carbonate.  When  this  compound  came  in  contact  with  the  sulphide 
forms  in  the  process  of  oxidation,  the  insoluble  barium  sulphate  was 
formed  as  represented  by  the  following  equation — 
2BaH2(CO,)2+FeSO,+  H.,S0,=2BaS0,+FeC0.^+3H204-3C02. 
During  this  reaction,  the  barium  sulphate  simply  replaced  the  iron 


DAKOTA  CONCRETIONS 


123 


sulphide.  Consequently  we  find  barite  occurring  in  the  same  kind  of 
crystal  clusters  as  the  marcasite  (Fi^s.  8 and  9).  In  regard  to  the 
])resence  of  barite  in  the  concretions  from  this  bed  and  its  almost  entire 
absence  from  those  found  in  the  lower  stratum,  we  may  assume  that 
tlie  period  during  which  the  waters  carried  the  barium  in  solution  was 
relatively  short  and  that  the  greater  part  of  this  element  was  left  in 
the  upper  strata.  The  presence  of  barite  in  some  of  the  concretions 
from  the  sandstone  bed  and  its  absence  in  others  seems  to  be  explained 
in  general  by  the  relative  thickness  of  the  walls  of  the  different  speci- 
mens. Those  containing  barite  usually  have  thinner  walls  than  those  in 
which  it  does  not  occur.  Thus  the  liarium-bearing  solutions  gained 
access  to  the  interior  cavities  of  these  forms  more  readily  than  they 
did  in  the  case  of  those  having  thicker  walls. 

The  last  mineral  in  the  order  of  deposition  was  kaolinite,  a hydrous 
aluminum  silicate,  H_^AloSi.^(),,.  This  was  deposited  as  a thin  coating 
covering  the  siderite  crystals  in  many  places.  This  mineral,  like  barite, 
occurs  most  frequently  in  the  concretions  having  thin  walls.  It  may 
have  gained  admission  to  the  interior  cavities  on  account  of  the  ex- 
treme fineness  of  its  particles,  or  what  seems  even  more  probable,  it 
may  have  been  leached  from  the  matrix  of  the  concretion. 


The  University  of  Nel)raska  Distributed  ( )ctol)er  29,  1916 

Lincoln,  Nebraska 


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61 

NEBRASKA  (;1a()L()(;ICAI.  SURVIaV 
Volume  7,  Part  17 


DRAINAGIa  districts  of  SOUTHIaASTERN  NF.BRASKAi 

BY  CALVIN  TURNER  MOORE 

Introduction 

Throughout  certain  parts  of  the  United  States  the  importance  of 
drainage  is  receiving  increased  recognition  each  year.  The  scope  of 
investigations  and  operations  covers  many  localities  that  are  affected 
with  “springy”  lands,  swamps,  shallow  lakes,  overflowed  lands,  and 
tide  lands. 

Drainage  work  is  wide  and  varied,  ranging  in  extent  of  operation 
from  the  laying  of  small  tile  drains  on  private  properties  to  the  con- 
struction of  large  and  costly  open-cut  ditches  designed  to  drain  broad 
areas. 

The  fundamental  reason  for  constructing  and  maintaining  drainage 
systems  is  either  to  increase  the  productive  value  of  farm  land  already 
under  cultivation,  or  to  bring  into  productivity  uncultivated  tracts. 
The  rapid  growth  of  population  in  the  United  States,  the  increased 
value  of  farm  land,  and  the  consequent  demand  for  farm  products 
make  small  and  large  drainage  projects  feasible.  A few  years  ago 
lower  land  values  and  lower  market  prices  for  farm  products  would 
have  prohibited  the  construction  of  the  larger  systems  of  drainage. 

Government  Drainage  Work 

The  question  of  drainage  in  various  parts  of  the  United  States  has 
become  of  such  importance  that  the  Department  of  Agriculture  now 
maintains  a staff  of  drainage  engineers.  During  the  fiscal  year  of 
1909-10,  twenty-seven  men  were  employed  on  this  staff*  and  made  in- 
vestigations and  surveys  in  twenty  different  states  and  territories.  The 
work  of  these  engineers  is  classified  and  described  as  follows : 

(1)  Improvement  of  farm  lands  now  under  cultivation. 

(2)  Drainage  of  swamp  lands. 

(3)  Reclamation  of  lands  subject  to  frequent  overflow  from  streams. 

(4)  Drainage  of  irrigated  lands. 

1 Editorial  Note:  This  paper  was  presented  as  a thesis  to  the  Faculty  of  the 
Graduate  College  in  the  University  of  Nebraska  in  partial  fulfillment  of  require- 
ments for  the  degree  Master  of  Arts,  Department  of  Geology. 


126 


NEBRASKA  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 


(5)  Collection  of  data. 

(6)  Preliminary  and  reconnaissance  work. 

(7)  Dissemination  of  information. 

The  following,  taken  from  R.  D.  Marsden’s  Report  on  Drainage 
Investigations  1909-10,  gives  the  special  work  on  which  the  field 
engineers  were  detailed.  “The  entire  time  of  one  engineer  is  given  to 
the  work  of  tile  drainage  in  various  parts  of  the  humid  region  where 
special  information  and  advice  upon  that  subject  are  needed,  and  five 
are  stationed  in  the  Western  States  to  study  the  problems  which  arise 
in  attempts  to  drain  irrigated  lands  and  to  assist  the  owners  who  desire 
to  reclaim  tracts  which  have  become  injured  by  seepage  or  by  alkali. 
Other  field  engineers  are  employed  in  examining  and  reporting  upon 
the  status  of  drainage  in  various  localities,  such  examinations  being 
made  upon  special  requests,  which  are  filed  from  time  to  time  with 
the  office.  They  are  also  charged  with  the  study  of  advising  engineers, 
farmers,  and  others  regarding  the  best  practice  in  drainage,  or  collect- 
ing practical  and  technical  data  pertaining  to  methods  of  reclaiming 
land,  of  giving  assistance  to  land  owners  in  the  organization  of  drain- 
age districts,  and  of  suggesting  preliminary  plans  for  reclaiming  areas 
of  farm  lands  on  those  subject  to  periodical  overflow,  all  of  which 
may  be  made  useful  for  agriculture.  The  office  engineers  reply  to  in- 
quiries received  by  mail  concerning  perplexing  drainage  problems. 
They  also  examine  plans  which  are  transmitted  by  mail  or  in  person, 
and  in  many  instances  suggest  improvements  or  modifications  which 
are  of  great  value.  They  review,  check,  and  edit  the  reports  prepared 
by  the  field  engineers  upon  the  various  projects  which  they  have 
worked  out,  and  disseminate  as  far  as  practicable  the  information  ob- 
tained by  the  entire  stafif  of  engineers.” 

Drainage  Work  in  Nebraska 

The  drainage  engineers  from  the  Government  stafif  have  been  of  con- 
siderable assistance  on  several  preliminary  investigations  and  surveys 
for  various  ])rojects  in  eastern  Nebraska.  Some  of  the  localities  ex- 
amined are  in  Burt,  Washington,  Saunders,  Nemaha,  Johnson,  Rich- 
ardson, Otoe,  and  Sarpy  counties. 

The  princijial  areas  of  Nebraska  requiring  drainage  ditches  lie  along 
the  Missouri  River  in  the  northeastern  part  of  the  State,  along  the 
lower  Platte  and  its  tributaries,  and  along  the  Greater  and  Little  Nem- 
aha Rivers  and  some  of  their  tributaries. 


DRAINAGE  DISTRICTS  OE  SOUTHEASTERN  NER.RASKA 


127 


1^'ig.  1.— Drainage  canal  near  Bracken,  Nemaha  Drainage  District  No. 
Photographed  by  E.  H.  Barbour. 


128 


NEBRASKA  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 


Drainage  Laws  of  Nebraska 

1'lie  drainage  laws  of  Nebraska  are  very  liberal  when  comjiared  with 
those  of  some  other  states.  The  State  Board  of  Irrigation,  Highways 
and  Drainage  has  ''original  jurisdiction  over  all  matters  pertaining  to 
water  rights  for  irrigation,  jiower  or  other  useful  purposes,  highways 
and  drainage.”  (From  1913  Irrigation  Laws  of  Nebraska.)  The 
irrigation  laws  were  expanded  to  include  all  drainage  projects  within 
the  State  by  the  Legislature  which  convened  in  1912,  and  this  clause 
went  into  effect  July  17,  1913. 

Each  District  Board  of  Sujiervisors  is  responsible  to  the  State  Board 
for  the  drainage  work  in  its  district.  The  following  section  from 
Article  II  of  the  Irrigation  Laws  of  Nebraska  ex]dains  the  filing  of 
plans  and  specifications  with  ap])roval  by  the  State  Board. 

“Sec.  41.  Drainage  district  plans. — All  plans  for  proposed  drainage 
districts  shall  be  ajiproved  by  the  State  Board  before  any  contract  is 
let  or  work  begun.  The  State  Board  through  its  representatives  shall 
have  authority  to  order  any  change  they  may  see  fit  in  said  plans  and 
require  the  drainage  district  to  conform  thereto,  and  shall  at  all  times 
during  the  construction  have  the  right  to  inspect  said  work  and  make 
recommendations  ])ertaining  to  the  same.  Upon  request  of  any  inter- 
ested party  or  parties  of  a jiroposed  drainage  district,  the  State  Board 
may  jirepare  for  them  ])lans  and  specifications  for  any  proposed  drain- 
age work  at  actual  cost  of  doing  the  same.”  (Drainage  Laws,  1913, 
page  100.) 

Co])ies  of  the  Irrigation,  Highway,  and  Drainage  Laws  of  Nebraska 
may  be  had  on  application  to  the  State  Engineer’s  office  at  the  State 
Ca])itol  Building. 

The  following  quotation  is  a part  of  the  State  Engineer’s  recom- 
mendation relative  to  the  passage  of  a law  compelling  drainage  dis- 
tricts to  file  their  jilans  with  the  State  Board  of  Irrigation,  Highways, 
and  Drainage : 

“During  the  past  few  years  there  have  been  a number  of  drainage 
districts  formed  throughout  the  State.  In  many  cases  these  have  been 
formed  for  the  purpose  of  straightening  out  and  shortening  the  chan- 
nels of  small  streams.  Several  instances  have  come  to  the  attention 
of  this  office  where  several  districts  have  been  formed  for  the  straight- 
ening out  of  the  channel  of  the  same  stream.  Different  engineers  were 
em|)loyed  to  work  out  the  ])lan  and  locate  the  drainage  ditches  of  each 
different  district.  The  district  higher  up  on  the  stream  would  often 


DRAINAGE  DISTRICTS  OF  SOUTHEASTERN  NEP.RASKA  12!) 


Eig.  2— Drag-line  dredge  of  Callahan  Brothers.  Munn  and  Reise,  Margrave’s  Ranch,  southeast  of  Preston.  Richardson 
County.  District  No.  1.  Photographed  by  E.  F.  Schramm. 


NEBRASKA  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 


lao 

build  a canal  of  larger  cross  section  than  the  one  lower  down  the 
stream,  which  should  have  been  designed  to  carry  more  water  than  the 
upper  one.  This  shows  clearly  that  one  or  the  other  of  these  canals 
was  not  built  to  the  best  advantage  and  economically. 

“Different  questions  like  this  arise  which  are  greatly  influenced  by 
the  local  people,  who  desire  special  favors  and  privileges  and  the  best 
results  for  drainage  as  a whole  are  not  accomplished.  It  is  recom- 
mended that  a kne  be  compelling  all  drainage  districts  to  file 

an  application,  setting  forth  all  the  facts  pertaining  to  their  proposed 
drainage  project  and  that  the  same  be  acted  upon  by  the  State  Board, 
the  sayne  as  an  application  for  irrigation  or  power  purposes  and  that 
the  drainage  district  be  required  to  file  detailed  plans  of  their  proposed 
project  and  that  the  same  be  approved  by  the  State  Board,  subject  to 
any  change  zvhieh  they  may  see  fit  to  make  before  the  construction 
zvork  can  begin.  In  this  way  the  drainage  work  of  the  entire  State  will 
be  put  under  the  siq^ervision  of  the  State  Board,  and  the  State  En- 
gineer may  go  upon  the  ground  and  make  such  surveys  and  examina- 
tions as  he  may  deem  necessary,  so  as  to  enable  him  to  recommend  to 
the  Board  and  the  Drainage  Districts  the  best  plan  for  carrying  out 
the  proposed  project,  which  opinion  will  be  unbiased  by  any  local  con- 
ditions or  favors  that  might  exist  otherwise.  Thus  a uniform  plan 
for  the  straightening  of  the  channels  of  different  streams  can  be  suc- 
cessfully worked  out  throughout  their  entire  length. 

“Surveys  might  be  made  by  the  State  Engineer's  office  of  different 
streams  and  all  low  and  seep  lands,  showing  the  best  and  most  feasible 
ways  of  draining  and  straightening  and  shortening  the  channels  of 
creeks,  so  that  proi)osed  districts  could  be  formed  more  easily  and  to  a 
better  advantage  than  they  are  under  the  system  which  is  in  use  at 
this  time.” 


Drainage  \\k)RK  in  Southeastern  Nebraska 

The  remainder  of  this  pa])er  deals  with  the  drainage  projects  on  the 
(ireater  and  Little  Nemaha  Rivers  in  southeastern  Nebraska. 

(Ieographv 

Tbe  area  of  southeastern  Nebraska,  with  which  this  rei)ort  deals,  is 
located  geographically  within  the  following  boundaries : The  Missouri 
River  on  the  east,  the  Nebraska-Kansas  State  line  on  the  south,  the 
range  line  between  R.  5 E.  and  R.  6 E.  on  tbe  west,  and  the  township 


DKAINAGE  DISTRICTS  OV  SOUTHEASTERN  NER.RASKA  131 


line  between  T.  10  N.  and  T.  11  N.  on  the  north.  These  honndaries 
include  the  entire  watersheds  of  the  two  Nemaha  Kivers.  ddie  actual 
vratersheds  of  these  two  rivers  may  he  described  as  follows : Practi- 
cally the  entire  area  of  Richardson,  Nemaha,  Otoe,  and  Johnson  coun- 
ties, the  east  third  of  l^awnee,  the  northeast  corner  of  Oage,  the  south- 
east corner  of  Lancaster,  and  a strij)  averaging  two  miles  wide  along 
the  south  line  of  Cass  County. 


Fig.  3. — The  “little  dredge”  at  work  on  the  lateral  ^2  mile  north  of  Bracken. 
Photographed  by  E.  H.  Barbour. 


The  number  of  square  miles  of  watershed  by  counties  is  given  ap- 
proximately as : 


Lancaster  . 

Gage  

Cass  

Johnson  . . 
Pawnee  . . 

Otoe  

Nemaha  . . 
Richardson 


110  sq.  mi. 
100  sq.  mi. 
GO  sq.  mi. 
385  sq.  mi. 
150  sq.  mi. 
560  sq.  mi. 
350  sq.  mi. 
525  sq.  mi. 


Total 


2,240  sq.  mi. 


132 


NEBRASKA  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 


To  this  total  must  be  added  288  square  miles  of  watershed  lying 
south  of  the  Nebraska-Kansas  line,  all  of  which  flows  into  the  Greater 
Nemaha. 

The  salient  geographical  features  and  the  watersheds  of  the  two 
Nemahas  are  shown  on  the  map  of  Divides  of  Southeastern  Nebraska. 

Drainage  Districts 

Great  Nemaha  River:  On  this  river  four  drainage  districts  have 
been  incorporated,  and  a fifth  is  in  process  of  organization. 

1.  Richardson  County  Drainag^e  District  No.  1 begins  at  the  Vlis- 
souri  River  and  extends  westward  to  the  junction  of  the  North  and 
South  Forks  of  the  Nemaha  River  near  Salem,  Nebraska,  thence 
along  the  South  Fork  to  the  west  line  of  Sec.  5,  T.  1 N.,  R.  14  E.,  and 
along  the  North  Fork  to  the  west  line  of  Sec.  23,  T.  2 N.,  R.  14  E. 

2.  Richardson  County  Drainage  District  No.  2 begins  at  the  u]i- 
stream  end  of  the  North  Fork  in  Richardson  County  District  No.  1, 
and  extends  westward  to  the  Pawnee-Richardson  County  line. 

3.  Richardson  County  Drainage  District  No.  4 begins  at  the  up- 
stream end  of  Richardson  County  No.  1 on  the  South  Fork  and  ex- 
tends to  the  Pawnee-Richardson  County  line.  This  district  was  being 
organized  according  to  last  reports. 

4.  Pawnee  County  Drainage  District  No.  1 begins  at  the  Pawnee- 
Richardson  County  line  and  extends  to  the  Pawnee- Jefferson  County 
line. 

5.  Johnson  County  Drainage  District  No.  1 begins  at  the  Pawnee- 
Johnson  County  line  and  extends  up-stream  to  a iioint  1.5  miles  north- 
west of  Sterling,  Nebraska,  ending  in  Sec.  21,  T.  6 N.,  R.  9 E. 

Tuttle  Nemaha  River:  Two  districts  are  incorporated  in  the  valley 
of  this  river. 

1.  Nemaha  County  Drainage  District^  No.  2 begins  at  the  Vlissouri 
River  and  extends  up-stream  to  the  Nemaha-Otoe  County  line. 

2.  Otoe  County  Drainage  District  No.  1 liegins  at  the  Nemaha-Otoe 
County  line.  There  will  be  three  ditches  in  this  district,  one  along  the 
North  Fork,  one  along  Ho])per  Creek,  and  one  on  the  South  Fork  to 
the  Johnson  Countv  line. 

The  region  within  the  watersheds  of  the  two  Nemahas  is  entirely 
agricultural  and  grazing,  though  there  are  some  successful  brick  plants 

1 Nemaha  County  District  No.  1 is  on  Camn  Creek.  This  creek  has  a catch- 
ment liasin  of  approximately  55  square  miles.  The  ditch  is  small  and  partly 
reclaims  the  Peru  Swamp. 


DRAINAGE  DISTRICTS  OF  SOUTHEASTERN  NEBRASKA  r.i:\ 


and  a few  stone  (inarries.  There  are  a few  thin  coal  seams  in  this  field, 
hut  no  coal  mines  are  being  o]jerated  at  the  ])resent  time. 

A number  of  the  towns  have  a i)oi)ulation  of  1,000  to  2,000,  and  two 
or  three  of  them  have  5,000  inhabitants. 

Railway  facilities  are  fairly  g(X)d  over  the  entire  area,  the  Chi- 
cago, Durlington  and  Quincy,  ami  the  Missouri  Pacific  Railroads  hav- 
ing the  greatest  mileage. 


Topoorapiiy 

The  topography  represented  within  this  region  is  that  of  mature 
age,  the  range  of  relief  being  from  sea  level  elevation  850  feet  at  the 


Fig.  4. — Callahan  Brothers,  Miinn  and  Reise  dredger  on  Margrave’s  Ranch 
southeast  of  Preston,  Richardson  County.  District  No.  1.  Photographed  hy 
E.  H.  Barbour. 


Missouri  River  to  sea  level  elevation  1,500  feet  in  Lancaster  County. 
The  valleys  of  the  smaller  streams  are  well  incised  into  the  land  sur- 
face, having  narrow,  well-defined  divides,  with  comparatively  broad, 
even  slopes  to  the  stream  beds. 

The  larger  streams,  as  a general  rule,  have  broad,  flat  bottoms 
which  end  laterally  in  stee])  slo]:)es  rising  abruptly  to  the  uplands.  The 


134 


NEBRASKA  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 


limestone  strata  outcropping-  near  the  tops  of  these  side-slopes  weather 
much  more  slowly  than  the  underlying  shales  and  form  the  sharp  bluffs 
characteristic  of  these  valleys. 

Hydrography 

The  drainage  systems  of  this  area  are  typically  those  of  a mature 
topography  in  a region  of  moderate  relief  and  rainfall.  The  streams 
divide  and  subdivide  until  the  small  intermittent  feeders  form  a com- 
plete network  over  the  entire  area.  The  perennial  streams,  especially 
the  larger  ones,  have  developed  a continuous  and  tortuous  series  of 
meanders.  This  is  facilitated  by  the  readiness  with  which  the  surface 
formations  of  the  region  erode.  In  many  places  meander  development 
has  progressed  to  such  an  extent  that  the  natural  stream  bed  has  a 
course  two  or  three  times  the  length  of  the  ditches  that  have 
been  constructed.  In  Richardson  County  several  oxbow  lakes  have 
been  formed.  These  furnish  positive  evidence  as  to  the  past  behavior 
of  the  Great  Nemaha. 

Great  Nemaha  River:  The  Great  Nemaha  heads  in  the  southern 
part  of  Lancaster  County  and  drains  an  area  of  approximately  1,200 
square  miles  within  Nebraska.  It  also  carries  the  run-off  of  290  square 
miles  of  northeastern  Kansas,  which  makes  a watershed  of  1,490 
square  miles.  The  waters  south  of  the  State  line  are  carried  by  the 
South  Fork  and  other  streams  lying  to  the  east,  and  they  affect  only 
Richardson  County  Drainage  District  No.  1.  Approximately  four- 
hfths  of  the  watershed  lies  along  the  lower  half  of  the  stream. 

Considering  the  North  Fork  as  the  main  channel,  the  Great  Nemaha 
has  a general  course  of  S.  60°  E.  The  divide  between  the  North  Fork 
and  the  Little  Nemaha  River  follows  close  to  the  trunk  stream  of  the 
North  Fork  along  the  upper  portion  of  the  valley.  The  lower  valley 
has  two  large  tributaries  flowing  from  the  north ; namely,  IMuddy 
Creek  and  Long  Branch.  On  the  south  side  of  the  river  numerous 
large  tributaries,  such  as  Four  IMile,  Rattle  Snake,  Rock,  Honey,  and 
W'alnut  creeks,  empty  into  the  main  channel  throughout  its  entire 
length.  These  streams  carry  nearly  all  the  water  coming  from  across 
the  State  line.  Two-thirds  of  the  watershed  lies  on  the  south  side  of 
the  trunk  stream. 

The  approximate  number  of  square  miles  of  watershed  draining  into 
the  heads  of  the  North  Fork  drainage  districts  are: 


Johnson  County  District  No.  1 150  sq.  mi. 

Pawnee  County  District  No.  1 375  sq.  mi. 

Richardson  County  District  No.  2 475  sq.  mi. 

Richardson  County  District  No.  1 000  sq.  mi. 


DRAINAGE  DISTRICTS  OF  SOUTHEASTERN  NEBRASKA  1:55 


Lttti.e  Nemaha  River:  The  I.ittle  Nemaha  River,  which 
heads  in  Lancaster  County,  drains  an  area  of  ai)proximately  1,000 
square  miles.  Its  .s^eneral  course  is  nearly  S.  45^  E.  The  watershed 
lies  mostly  in  the  upper  half  of  the  valley,  three-fourths  of  its  area 
being  above  the  Nemaha-Otoe  County  line,  a condition  opposite  that 
of  the  Great  Nemaha.  If  Hopi)er  Creek  is  considered  the  main  chan- 
nel, the  drainage  of  the  Little  Nemaha  is  very  nearly  symmetrical  to 
the  trunk  stream,  the  drainage  areas  of  the  North  Fork,  Hop])er 
Creek,  and  the  South  Fork  being  nearly  equal. 

Nemaha  County  Drainage  District  No.  2,  at  its  head  on  the  Otoe 
County  line,  receives  the  flow  from  a catchment  basin  of  750  scjuare 
miles. 

At  present  Otoe  County  Drainag^e  District  No.  1,  which  was  re- 
cently organized,  is  making  survevs  to  continue  the  ditch  from  Nemaha 
County  District  No.  1,  U])  North  Fork,  Ho])per  Creek,  and  South 
Fork. 


CiEOT.Or.Y 

The  oldest  known  ex])osures  are  Carboniferous  and  are  represented 
by  limestones  and  shales  of  Pennsylvanian  age.  Idiese  limestones  and 
shales  are  found  along  the  steep  bluffs  which  lie  between  the  river 
valleys  proper  and  the  uplands.  The  next  oldest  known  exposures  are 
represented  by  limestones  and  shales  of  the  Permian  series.  In  parts 
of  the  western  portion  of  this  drainage  area,  the  Carboniferous  rocks 
are  overlain  unconformably  by  loosely  cemented  ferruginous  sand- 
stones of  the  Dakota  series  of  the  Cretaceous  period.  The  Pleistocene 
epoch  is  represented  by  glacial  drift  which  caps  the  older  Carboniferous 
and  Cretaceous  formations,  and  forms  most  of  the  hilltops  within  this 
area.  In  some  places  this  drift  is  in  turn  capped  by  Loess.  The  Loess 
was  probably  the  deposit  of  an  out- wash  plain  derived  from  some  later 
stage  of  glaciation,  possibly  the  Iowan  stage.  The  drift  underlying 
the  Loess  is  of  the  Kansan  stage.  In  many  places  in  this  drift  the  pink 
Sioux  quartzite  erratics  of  various  sizes  are  conspicuous. 

The  last  epoch  represented  is  the  recent.  Under  this  head  would 
come  the  classification  of  the  soils  of  the  area.  The  following  is  taken 
from  the  “Soil  Survey  of  Nemaha  County,  Nebraska,'"  and  is  repre- 
sentative of  the  soils  of  the  region  under  discussion  . 

“The  soils  in  this  part  of  the  State  may  be  grouped  into  three  dis- 
trict divisions.  The  upland  soils  are  derived  from  glacial  and  loessial 


13G 


NEBRASKA  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 


material,  the  alluvial  terraces  from  fluvial  silts,  and  the  first  bottoms 
from  recent  stream  dej^osits.  The  upland  group  embraces  the  Knox, 
Marshall,  and  Carrington  series ; the  alluvial  terraces  are  classed  as 
W aukesha  series  and  the  first  bottoms  comprise  the  WTbash  and  Sarpy 
series  and  Riverwash.  Most  of  the  soils  of  the  uplands  and  terraces 
are  silty,  and  the  same  is  true  of  most  of  the  first  bottoms,  except  on 
the  Missouri  River,  where  the  silty  clay  loams  and  very  fine  sand  loams 
are  important.  Wfith  the  exception  of  the  Knox  series,  and  recently 
deposited  soils  along  the  Missouri  River,  the  soils  are  dark  in  color 
and  rather  high  in  organic  matter.” 

Fertility,  Crops,  and  Land  AWlues 

In  general  the  soils  of  both  the  hill  and  valley  lands  of  southeastern 
Nebraska  are  fertile.  The  hill  lands  usually  rise  steeply  from  the  river 
valleys  to  an  average  elevation  of  40  to  60  feet.  These  uplands  are, 
for  the  most  part,  covered  with  a dark  loam  from  a few  inches  to 
several  feet  in  depth.  This  loam  overlies  a glacial  deposit  of  variable 
thickness.  Under  the  glacial  deposit  are  interbedded  strata  of  lime- 
stones and  shales,  the  outcrops  of  which  form  the  bluffs  along  the 
river  valleys,  ddiis  upland  or  hill  country  produces  good  crops,  and  is 
])articularly  adapted  to  grazing  purposes. 

The  bottom  land  along  the  rivers  and  the  lower  valleys  of  the  larger 
tributaries  has  a surface  of  black  loam  underlain  by  clay.  There  is 
also  a deposit  of  silt  on  the  surface  of  the  land  subject  to  overflow. 
These  overflowed  lands  are  the  most  fertile  of  the  region  on  account  of 
the  rich  sediment  deposited  by  frequent  floods.  This  fertility  has 
been  fairly  well  tested  by  the  production  of  crops  in  districts  where 
ditches  are  completed.  For  the  past  two  years  the  land  overflowed 
before  the  ditches  were  excavated  has  produced  the  best  crops  in  that 
jiortion  of  the  State  now  being  considered. 

The  principal  crops  of  southeastern  Nebraska  are  wheat,  corn, 
hay,  and  other  farm  ])roducts  of  secondary  importance. 

The  average  value  of  croDs  on  the  hill  land  is  from  $18.00  to  $22.00 
per  acre,  and  during  exceptional  seasons  run  as  high  as  $25.00  per  acre. 

The  crops  on  the  overflowed  land,  for  several  years  before  draining, 
were  absolute  failures,  having  been  destroyed  or  in  some  instances 
carried  away  by  the  flood  waters.  One  landowner  makes  the  positive 
assertion  that  for  a number  of  years  the  revenue  from  a large  portion 
of  the  overflowed  bottoms  “did  not  even  pay  the  taxes.”  Several  thou- 
sand acres  of  the  flooded  lands,  within  the  two  Nemaha  River  systems. 


I)kAINA(;K  DISTRICTS  ()!'  SOUTHEASTERN  NERRASKA  i:?7 


were  entirely  al)an(lone(l  for  agricultural  purposes.  Since  ditching, 
however,  this  same  land  has  i)roduced  crops  ranking  among  the  best  of 
the  entire  region.  One  farm  in  particular  averaged  about  $2S.OO  per 
acre  in  1913. 

Upland  farms  are  valued  at  $90.00  to  $150.00  ])er  acre,  owing  to 
their  location  and  the  imi)rovements  u])on  them.  The  value  of  the 
bottom  lands  is  difficult  to  determine.  Before  the  ditches  were  assured, 
and  their  success  determined,  some  of  the  farm  land  lying  on  the  lowest 
of  the  overflowed  area  could  not  be  sold  at  any  ])rice.  Farms  which 
were  in  better  locations  as  regards  overflow,  are  recorded  as  selling 
for  prices  ranging  from  v$35.00  to  v$75.00  an  acre.  In  the  districts 
which  have  been  successfully  ditched,  the  ])rice  of  100  per  cent  bene- 
fited land  has,  on  a very  conservative  estimate,  doubled  in  value.  A 
few  instances  are  recorded  where  the  increased  value  has  been  as  much 
as  150  per  cent. 


N.vtukal  Channels 

To  account  for  the  fre(|uent  overflows  following  the  heavier  rains, 
it  is  necessary  to  describe  the  more  ])rominent  conditions  that  formerly 
existed  on  the  trunk  streams  and  larger  tributaries. 

Let  us  consider  the  conditions  which  existed  along  the  Great  Nem- 
aha, as  these  are  representative  of  the  remainder  of  the  area.  In  the 
\icinity  of  Sterling,  Johnson  County,  the  river  valley  proper  has  a 
grade  of  6.(S  feet  a mile.  This  grade  decreases  toward  the  mouth  of  the 
river  until  in  the  eastern  pfwtion  of  Richardson  County  near  Rulo,  the 
grade  of  the  valley  is  between  2.0  and  2.5  feet  a mile.  Some  of  the 
tributaries,  especially  those  of  the  upper  river  valley,  have  grades  of  as 
much  as  20.0  feet  per  mile  toward  their  sources.  These  streams  main- 
tain comparatively  steep  grades  until  they  emerge  from  the  bluhfs  along 
the  main  river  valley  and  flow  out  on  the  bottom  lands.  This  higher 
gradient  gives  the  tributaries,  at  flood  stage  especially,  much  greater 
velocities  as  compared  with  that  of  the  trunk  stream.  Most  of  these 
tributaries  he  in  comparatively  narrow  valleys  which  have  relatively 
steep  side-slopes  and  are  rather  deeply  incised  into  the  hill  lands.  This 
topograjdiy  furnishes  ideal  conditions  for  the  collection  of  heavy  loads 
of  sediments  by  rainwaters. 

As  the  soils  of  southeastern  Nebraska  erode  very  readily,  these  side 
streams  carry  out  large  amounts  of  sediment  on  the  main  channel  bot- 
toms and  into  the  trunk  stream  itself.  The  topography  of  the  uplands 
shows  plainly  the  rapid  erosion  features  of  this  region. 


138 


NEBRASKA  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 


During  floods  these  rapidly  flowing  side-streams  soon  charge  the 
trunk  stream  with  a heavy  load  of  sediment.  As  the  main  channel 
gradient  is  considerably  less  than  its  tributaries,  conditions  are  favora- 
ble for  the  deposition  of  a part  of  this  load  along  the  banks  the  instant 
the  stream  overflows. 

The  load  carried  by  flood  waters  is  the  direct  cause  of  the  natural 
levees  which  lie  adjacent  to  the  banks  of  the  rivers.  In  ])laces  these 
levees  rise  to  a foot  or  more  in  height.  They  are  present  along  both 
the  Nemaha  rivers  and  greatly  increase  the  damage  done  by  floods. 
Their  origin  is  easily  explained  by  the  fact  that  the  instant  the  laden 
flood  waters  leave  the  channel  and  flow  over  the  banks,  the  velocity  is 
checked  and  therefore  a part  of  the  load  is  deposited,  adjacent  to  the 
lianks,  forming  the  levees.  These  levees  are  not  readily  apparent,  for 
on  the  land-side  the  slopes  are  very  flat  and  may  extend  quite  a num- 
ber of  rods  across  the  flood  plain.  Therefore,  since  the  grade  slopes 
from  the  channel  for  some  distance,  as  soon  as  the  flood  water  over- 
flows a levee,  it  spreads  rapidly  over  the  surface.  These  levees  also 
impede  the  return  of  water  to  the  channel  as  the  overflow  recedes, 
thus  holding  the  water  on  the  bottoms  for  a longer  period  of  time  and 
this  in  turn  increases  the  speepage  toward  the  higher  lands. 

This  seepage  brings  about  a condition  which  greatly  damages  the 
land  immediately  adjacent  to  the  overflowed  area.  The  land  itself  is 
not  under  water  except  at  extraordinary  flood  stage.  However,  when 
the  flood  waters  stand  on  the  adjacent  areas  for  three  or  four  days, 
they  seep  back  into  the  soil  of  this  land,  softening  the  ground  to  such 
ou  extent  that  teams  mire  deeply  and  it  is  impossible  for  three  to  ten 
days  after  the  retreat  of  the  water,  to  work  on  this  land.  Landowners 
say  that  the  length  of  time  this  seep  water  remains  in  the  soil  is  almost 
inconceivable,  and  the  delay  in  cultivating  and  harvesting  crops  often 
causes  serious  loss. 

The  trunk  streams  of  this  area  are  flanked  by  broad  flat  valleys 
that  terminate  in  the  bluffs  which  rise  to  the  uplands  on  either  side. 
In  time  of  flood  these  valleys,  on  account  of  their  low  lateral  gradients, 
are  conducive  to  a wide  spread  of  water.  The  entire  loss  of  crops  for 
several  years  discouraged  farmers  from  cultivating  the  overflowed  bot- 
toms and  these  portions  of  the  valleys  had  grown  u])  to  wild  grass, 
weeds,  and  brush.  Along  the  immediate  banks  was  a growth  of  small 
timber,  brush,  and  rank  weeds  such  as  wild  sunflower  (Helianthus) 
and  horse-weed  (Ambrosia).  At  high  water  stage,  on  account  of  the 
many  sharp  meanders  characteristic  to  this  region  the  stream  currents 


DRAINAGE  DISTRICTS  OE  SOUTHEASTERN  NERRASKA  i:d 


(lid  a large  amount  of  iinder-cuUing,  causing  the  trees  and  brush  along 
the  banks  to  slide  and  fall  into  the  stream  beds.  The  weight  of  the 
root-matted  sod  and  the  roots  which  still  clung  to  the  bank  fre(iuently 
held  such  trees  in  position  and  some  of  them  even  continued  to  grow 
in  the  bed  of  the  stream.  At  each  successive  flood,  logs,  brush,  and 
weeds  lodged  on  these  trees,  this  drift  in  turn  gathered  an  accumula- 
tion of  sand  and  silt,  which  aided  in  ])reser\  ing  the  vegetable  debris  it 
covered.  In  the  course  of  a few  years  many  such  barriers  obstructed 
the  free  passage  of  water  through  the  channel  and  greatly  increased 
the  overflow. 

Such  obstructions  in  the  stream  beds  greatly  impede  and  sometimes 
even  entirely  destroy  the  scouring  ])rocess  l)y  which  streams  keep  their 
channels  cleared  of  accumulations  of  sand  and  silt.  They  not  only 
retard  the  scour,  but  by  checking  the  velocity,  cause  the  water  to  de- 
posit a portion  of  its  load.  The  eftect  of  this  stream  filling  process  is 
almost  continuous  along  the  trunk  streams  of  both  the  Great  and  Little 
Nemaha  rivers.  ^ 

The  numerous  and  tortuous  meanders  of  the  Nemaha  rivers  were 
another  factor  of  importance  in  ])roducing  overflows.  The  great  length 
of  these  meanders  considerably  reduced  the  actual  grade  of  the  stream. 
The  efifect  of  this  reduced  grade  is  a reduced  velocity  and  conse- 
quently a reduced  volume  of  water  ])assing  a given  point  in  a given 
time.  An  exam])le  of  this  is  brought  to  notice  in  Pawnee  County 
Drainage  District  No.  1,  where  the  velocity  of  the  water  in  the  old 
channel  at  bank- full  stage  was  between  3.5  and  4.0  feet  per  second, 
while  that  of  the  new  channel  under  the  same  conditions  is  a little 
more  than  7.0  feet  per  second.  Considering  the  cross-section  areas  the 
same  in  the  two  channels,  the  new  channel  will  deliver  about  twice  the 
volume  of  water  per  unit  time  as  the  old  channel.  Delay  in  passage 
of  water  down  stream  is  the  prime  cause  of  overflows  and  the  chief 
causes  of  this  delay  are,  as  has  been  stated,  obstructions  in  the  stream 
beds  and  meanders  of  the  channel.  There  are  numerous  minor  causes 
for  the  delay  in  deliverv  and  the  increased  spread  of  flood  water  over 
the  bottom  land,  but  they  are  not  of  sufficient  importance  to  demand 
detailed  consideration. 


Rainfall  and  Run-off 

The  run-ofif  from  an  area  in  proportion  to  the  amount  of  rainfall 
is  dependent  upon  the  condition,  of  the  soil  at  the  time  of  precipitation. 


140 


NEBRASKA  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 


A rainfall  precipitated  after  a period  of  drouth  is  largely  absorbed  by 
the  soil  and  its  run-off  is  less  than  that  of  the  same  amount  of  rainfall 
on  the  same  area  when  the  soil  is  saturated. 

The  character  of  the  precipitation  greatly  affects  the  rate  of  run-off. 
A rainfall  of  short  duration  causes  greater  height  of  flood  waters 
than  does  an  equal  preci])itation  covering  a longer  period. 

The  rainfall  of  southeastern  Nebraska  averages  23  to  24  inches 
per  annum,  precipitated  chiefly  during  the  growing  months.  This 
makes  the  overflows  much  more  disastrous  to  crops  along  the  bottoms 
than  they  would  be  if  the  heavier  rains  came  in  the  winter  or  if  the 
rainfall  were  more  evenly  distributed  throughout  the  year. 

As  there  are  very  few  meter  ratings  of  these  streams  at  times  of 
flood  there  is  little  data  to  present  in  actual  figures.  The  best  record 
obtainable  is  from  Mr.  F.  F.  Shafer’s  report  from  the  Government 
Drainage  Engineer's  Oflice  on  Nemaha  County  District  No.  1,  from 
which  is  quoted  this  abbreviated  account.  “On  Nov.  15,  1909,  the 
Great  Nemaha  was  gaged  near  Tecumseh,  Nebr.,  while  running  bank- 
full,  and  showed  a velocity  of  4 feet  per  second  or  2.7  miles  per  hour. 
This  was  after  a precipitation  of  5.40  inches  in  40  hours.  However, 
the  ground  was  very  dry  and  absorbed  a large  amount  of  the  rain- 
water. This  gauging  showed  a run-off  of  1.5  inches  in  24  hours.  On 
Nov.  27  and  28,  1909,  a rainfall  of  1.20  inches  in  24  hours  caused  an 
overflow  in  the  region  of  Elk  Creek.  When  computing  the  cross  sec- 
tion area  necessary  for  the  new  ditch  a run-off  of  1.00  inch  in  24  hours 
was  used  above  Yankee  Creek  and  0.75  inches  per  24  hours  below 
Yankee  Creek."  From  1.5  to  2.0  inches  per  24  hours  was  used  on 
the  tributaries. 

Plans  of  Improvement 

Idle  general  ])lans  of  improvement  for  the  various  districts  under 
consideration  are  practically  the  same  except  for  minor  details.  These 
plans  may  he  grouped  under  the  following  heads : 

(1)  Clearing  hanks  and  right-of-way. 

(2)  Clearing  old  channels  if  used. 

(3)  Construction  of  ditches  and  laterals. 

( 4)  Construction  of  dikes. 

Clearing  P)Anks  and  RKuiT-oF-Wdw.  and  Clearini;  Oim  Chan- 
nel:— d'hese  subjects  may  he  treated  together,  since  the  conditions 
to  he  obtained  are  jiractically  the  same,  ddie  object  of  clearing  the 
banks  and  right-of-way,  and  the  banks  and  bed  of  the  old  channel 


DRAINAGE  DISTRICTS  OE  SOUTHEASTERN  NEBRASKA  141 


when  used  in  the  proposed  system,  is  to  prevent  the  lied  of  the  drain- 
age ditch  from  liecoming  olistrncted  l)y  trees  and  stumps  wliich  would 
be  carried  into  the  stream  by  under-cutting  and  slides,  d'his  type  of 
stream  has  been  described  under  the  head  of  “Conditions  of  Natural 
Channels.” 

d'he  specifications  for  clearing  vary  somewhat  in  the  dififerent  dis- 
tricts, as  regards  width  of  clearing  and  other  details,  but  on  the  whole 
are  nearly  uniform. 

Ditches  and  Laterals  : — The  main  channels  throughout  the  dis- 
tricts vary  only  in  such  details  as  cross-section  area,  side  slopes,  and 
size  of  sub-channels.  The  entire  length  of  the  main  channels  was  ex- 
cavated either  by  floating  dipper  dredges  or  by  drag-line  dredges. 
The  price  per  cubic  yard  for  main  channel  work  was  from  7^  to 
cents. 

The  larger  laterals  were  worked  with  dredges  on  their  lower  ])or- 
tions,  and  by  teams  on  the  upper  portions  and  the  small  laterals.  The 
contractor  usually  bids  on  the  drainage  work  for  an  entire  district, 
or  for  a section  of  a district,  and  does  the  dredge  work  himself  while 
he  sublets  the  team  work.  Prices  for  team  work  are  higher  than  for 
dredge  work. 

Levees  : — There  are  but  few  levees  needed  in  these  districts.  I'he 
largest  one  built  is  that  on  the  north  side  of  the  (meat  Nemaha  begin- 
ning at  the  Chicago,  Burlington  and  Quincy  Railroad  embankment 
near  the  Missouri  River.  This  levee  is  227  stations  long  (nearly  4 
miles)  and  has  an  average  height  of  6 feet.  There  are  several 
smaller  levees  ranging  from  a few  hundred  feet  to  one-half  mile  in 
length. 

The  plans  of  imjirovement  will  be  considered  more  in  detail  under 
the  district  headings. 

Description  of  the  Field  Survey 

The  field  survey  for  a drainage  district  embraces  the  i)reliminary 
survey  and  the  location  survey. 

By  the  preliminary  survey  necessarv  data  is  secured  for  determining 
the  location  of  the  ditch,  the  grade  to  be  used,  and  the  cross-section 
area  necessary  to  carry  the  storm  water.  This  work  includes  meander- 
ing the  trunk  streams  and  their  tributaries,  running  cross  levels,  mean- 
dering the  bottom  lands  to  determine  the  benefited  areas,  measuring 
the  cross-section  of  the  streams,  and  the  meter  rating  of  the  streams 
at  flood  periods  to  determine  velocity  and  run-ofif. 


142 


NEBRASKA  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 


The  location  survey  is  the  actual  staking  out  of  the  ditches.  The 
State  law  requires  location  surveys  to  be  measured  accurately  by 
chain.  The  location  line  must  be  tied  to  land  survey  monuments. 
Profile  levels  are  run  over  the  located  line. 

As  an  approximate  estimate  of  the  length  of  time  necessary  for  a 
field  survey  and  its  cost,  the  following  is  copied  from  Mr.  F.  F. 
Shafer’s  report  on  Johnson  County  Drainage  District  No.  1.  It 
should  be  noted  that  two  location  lines  were  staked  on  this  piece  of 
work. 

“The  total  length  of  lines  run  is  over  190  miles,  classified  as  follows : 


Cross  levels  43.4  mi. 

Base  levels  12.9  mi. 

Check  levels  11.4  mi. 

Profile  levels  • 35.6  mi. 

Meander  of  stream  41.0  mi. 

Meander  of  bluffs  5.8  mi. 

Meander  levels  • 4.4  mi. 

Location  lines  35.6  mi. 


Total  190.1  mi. 


“A  party  of  seven  men  was  employed  for  a period  of  35  working 
days,  3j4  of  which  were  lost  on  account  of  bad  weather.  The  party 
consisted  of  : — one  transitman,  one  levelman,  two  rodnien,  two  axe- 
men and  one  teamster. 

“The  total  cost  of  the  field  work  was  $992.85,  of  which  $241.88  was 

paid  from  a local  fund  raised  for  that  purpose The  cost  per 

mile  of  line  run  was  $5.50.  Cost  per  located  mile  of  ditch  line,  $27.90. 
Cost  per  square  mile  of  flooded  land,  $49.60.” 

Richardson  County  Drainage  District  No.  1 

Richardson  County  Drainage  District  No.  1 was  the  first  district 
to  organize  on  either  of  the  Nemaha  Rivers,  and  was  established  in 
1904.  Mr.  C.  G.  Elliott,  of  Washington,  D.  C.,  Engineer  in  charge  of 
Drainage  Work  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  was  called  to  make 
a preliminary  survey  and  estimate  on  the  work.  Lie  made  his  report 
and  recommendations  about  November  1,  1904.  Plans  and  surveys 
were  made  immediately  in  order  that  excavation  might  be  begun. 
Considerable  delay  was  caused,  however,  by  various  lawsuits  relative 
to  damages  and  benefits,  and  further  delay  was  occasioned  by  the  fact 
that  several  thousand  acres  of  benefited  land  lay  within  the  Iowa  and 
the  Sac  and  Fox  Indian  Reservations.  The  Iowa  tribal  lands  extend 
east  from  No  Lleart  Creek  and  along  the  south  bank  of  the  Nemaha 
River,  and  the  Sac  and  Fox  land  is  south  of  the  river  between  No 


DRAINAGE  DISTRICTS  OF  SOUTHEASTERN  NEBRASKA  14:1 

Heart  Creek  on  the  east  and  Honey  Creek  on  the  west.  The  law  re- 
quires all  benefited  lands  to  be  taxed,  and  necessitated  a special  act  of 
Congress  to  make  these  Indian  lands  taxable  for  benefits  received 
from  the  drainage  ditch  and  to  secure  the  right-of-way  across  Indian 
lands.  This  ditch  tax  was  drawn  from  the  Indian  allotment  money 
held  in  trust  by  the  United  States  Government. 

The  district  extends  from  the  mouth  of  the  Nemaha,  where  it 
empties  into  the  Missouri  River  in  Sec.  27,  T.  1 N.,  R.  19  E.,  up 
stream  to  near  Salem,  thence  along  the  North  Fork  to  the  West  line 
of  Sec.  23,  T.  1 N.,  R.  14  E.,  and  along  the  South  Fork  to  the  west 
line  of  Sec.  5,  T.  1 N.,  R.  14  E. 

The  old  river  channel  has  a more  tortuous  course  through  this  dis- 
trict than  through  any  of  the  districts  lying  up-stream  from  it.  The 
valley  grade  is  flatter,  being  about  2 feet  per  mile  at  the  lower  end 
of  the  district.  The  scour  is  less  and  the  tendency  to  meander  is 
greater  than  in  the  districts  lying  farther  up-stream.  Meandering 
occurs  to  such  an  extent  that  at  one  particular  place  in  the  southwest 
corner  of  T.  1 N.,  R.  18  E.,  the  old  channel  covers  a course  of  approxi- 
mately 6 miles  in  gaining  1 mile  down  the  valley.  The  number  of 
oxbow  lakes  on  the  lower  Great  Nemaha  is  evidence  of  its  past  be- 
havior. Horseshoe  and  Relf  are  among  the  larger  lakes.  Numerous 
smaller  lakes  are  almost  entirely  silted  up  and  might  be  called  marshes. 
Water  may  stand  in  these  the  greater  part  of  the  year,  or  there  may 
be  none  in  very  dry  seasons.  These  marshes  have  broad  slopes  and 
when  drained  may  be  farmed  with  the  surrounding  land. 

The  character  of  the  lower  river  has  changed  greatly  within  the 
last  few  decades.  Mr.  R.  E.  Grinstead,  formerly  of  Salem,  says  that 
there  were  once  numerous  rocky  fords  within  the  district.  The  river 
has  silted  up  its  bed,  however,  until  in  recent  years  these  fords  so 
filled  that  teams  cannot  cross  the  streams  and  cattle  often  mire  when 
going  into  the  channel  for  water.  A number  of  years  ago  there  were 
several  water-power  mills  within  the  district,  l)Ut  the  milldams  became 
so  silted  up  that  the  wheels  had  to  be  raised  at  the  expense  of  the 
power.  None  of  these  mills  were  in  operation  when  the  district  was 
organized. 

At  certain  points  drift  had  collected  in  the  old  channel  until  it 
formed  mats,  some  of  which  were  several  hundred  feet  in  length. 
At  low  water  stage  the  water  seeped  through  these  but  during  high 
water  such  obstructions  destroyed  from  30  to  50  per  cent  of  the 
efifective  capacity  of  the  stream. 


144 


NEBRASKA  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 


The  rate  of  flo\v  in  the  old  ehannel  at  bank-full  stage  was  such  that 
it  required  five  or  six  days  for  a float  to  traverse  the  distance  from 
Dawson  to  the  Missouri  River.  A straight  line  between  these  two 
points  is  approximately  28  miles  in  length,  but  the  old  river  channel 
between  these  points  follows  a course  which  is  three  or  four  times 
that  length.  The  ditch  channel  makes  the  distance  31.4  miles  from 
the  west  end  of  the  district  on  the  South  Fork  to  the  Missouri  River. 
For  fourteen  miles  the  ditch  follows  the  old  river  channel.  On  the 
North  Fork  there  are  nine  miles  of  ditch,  of  which  5.1  miles  are  the 
cleared  river  channel.  Since  the  ditch  was  completed  a float  will 
traverse  the  distance  from  Dawson  to  the  Missouri  River  at  bank-full 
stage  in  six  or  seven  hours.  A comparison  of  this  rate  of  delivery  of 
water  downstream  with  that  given  for  the  old  channel  shows  that 
flood  conditions  are  greatly  improved,  if  not  entirely  overcome. 

The  main  ditch  cross-section  has  a base  of  30  to  35  feet  at  grade, 
with  side  slopes  of  1 vertical  to  1 horizontal.  The  grade  is  that  of  the 
valley,  ranging  from  3.5  feet  per  mile  at  the  upper  end  of  the  district 
to  2.0  or  less  ])er  mile  near  the  Missouri  River.  The  specifications 
called  for  a subchannel  5 feet  wide  and  3 feet  deep  in  the  middle  of 
the  channel.  This  subchannel  was  a new  scheme,  at  least  new  in  this 
region.  It  is  designed  to  confine  the  water  at  low  stage  to  a narrow 
channel  so  as  to  prevent  the  growth  of  willows,  other  trees,  and  weeds, 
within  the  main  ditch. 

The  land  subject  to  overflow  in  the  district  was  approximately 
29,300  acres,  or  a little  less  than  46  square  miles.  A large  amount  of 
this  land  received  100  per  cent  beneflt. 

The  approximate  area  of  the  catchment  basin  above  the  upper  end 
of  the  district  on  the  North  Fork  is  given  l)y  counties  as  follows: 

Lancaster  54  sq.  mi. 

Gage too  sq.  mi. 

Johnson  265  sq.  mi. 

Pawnee  • 151  sq.  mi. 

Otoe 5 sq.  mi. 

Richardson 200  sq.  mi. 


Total 


i.)  sq.  mi. 


The  apjiroximate  area  of  the  catchment  basin  above  this  district, 
on  the  South  Fork,  is : 


Richardson 95  sq.  mi. 

Pawnee  50  sq.  mi. 

Drainage  across  Kansas  line 125  sq.  mi. 


Total  270  sq.  mi. 


I 


.MdT 


f': 


« 


■•{V 

S 

X 

c 


DRAINAGE  DISTRICTS  OF  SOUTHEASTERN  NEP>RASKA  145 


This  makes  a total  of  1045  scjiiare  miles  of  water-shed  above  the 
up-stream  ends  of  the  distriet. 

Conditions  in  the  district  were  such  that  land  on  the  first  bot- 
toms was  becoming  almost  worthless.  During  protracted  rains  the 
river  was  sometimes  out  of  its  hanks  for  a month,  the  widest  expanse 
of  water  at  flood  stage  l)eing  about  2 miles. 


Fig.  5. — Cross-section  of  main  ditch,  Drainage  District  No.  1.  Richardson 
County. 


Fig.  6.— Cross-section  of  main  ditch,  Drainage  District  No.  2,  Richardson 
County. 


The  drainage  district  survey  estimated  the  benefited  lands  at  29,2S?> 
acres.  The  engineer  evaluated  the  benefits  to  all  properties  as  follows : 


Property  Acres 

Farms,  etc 26,910.6.3 

Iowa  Indians  378.67 

Sac  and  Fox  Indians 1,996.65 

C.,  B.  & Q.  R.  R 

Mo.  P.  R.  R 

Pu1)lic  Highway 

Total  29,285.95 


Value 

Assessment 

Per  cent 

942,864.79 

224,679.92 

79.21 

14,490.00 

3,218.32 

1.20 

75,088.78 

19,887.41 

6.31 

66,100.00 

16,014.00 

5.56 

14,494.11 

3,510.00 

1.22 

77,340.00 

18,600.00 

6.50 

1,190,387.66 

285,909.65 

100.00 

146 


NEBRASKA  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 


The  following  is  the  engineer's  estimate  on  the  project: 


Working  Section  1-  17 

Main  Channel  Section 18-  33 

Main  Channel  Section 34-  46 

Main  Channel  Section 47-  57 

North  Fork  63-  87 

Muddy  104-110 

Hally  Creek  Lateral 95-  99 

Tiehen  Lateral 100-103 

Hard  Lateral  88-  94 

Falls  City  Lateral 130-139 

Towle  Spur  153 

Miles  Towle  Spur 150-152 

Muddy  Creek  111-113 

Vetter  Lake  Spur  114-122 

More  Spur  123-124 

Randolph  Spur  125-127 

Bowker  Spur  128-129 

Roys  Creek 60-  61 

Iowa  Creek  62 

Dyke  58-  59 

Highway  bridges  

Right-of-way,  etc 


Printing  incidentals,  engi- 
neering, etc 

Protecting  works  of  spillway 
h'lood  Gates  

Total  estimate  of  cost.. 


nclusive 

360,884 

cu. 

yd. 

at 

11c 

$ 39.697.24 

nclusive 

474,342 

cu. 

yd. 

at 

10c 

47,434.20 

nclusive 

426,252 

cu. 

yd. 

at 

10c 

42,625.20 

nclusive 

232,601 

cu. 

yd. 

at 

11c 

25,586.11 

nclusive 

220,904 

cu. 

yd. 

at 

10c 

22,090.40 

nclusive 

45,202 

cu. 

yd. 

at 

11c 

4,672.22 

nclusive 

40,055 

cu. 

yd. 

at 

He 

4,401.05 

nclusive 

6,771 

cu. 

yd. 

at 

11c 

744.81 

nclusive 

21,230 

cu. 

yd. 

at 

10c 

2,123.00 

nclusive 

123,820 

cu. 

yd.  at 

10c 

12,387.00 

nclusive 

3,302 

cu. 

yd. 

at 

11c 

363.22 

nclusive 

20,310 

cu. 

yd.  at 

12c 

2,438.42 

nclusive 

9,071 

cu. 

yd. 

at 

12c 

1,088.42 

nclusive 

55,055 

cu. 

vd. 

at 

10c 

5,505.50 

nclusive 

5,107 

cu. 

yd. 

at 

10c 

510.70 

nclusive 

12,462 

cu. 

yd.  at 

10c 

1,246.20 

nclusive 

38,796 

cu. 

yd. 

at 

10c 

3,979.60 

nclusive 

7,222 

cu. 

yd. 

at 

10c 

722.20 

nclusive 

4,713 

cu. 

yd. 

at 

10c 

471.30 

nclusive 

72,378 

cu. 

yd. 

at 

10c 

7,237.80 

22,740.00 

20,000.00 


7,500.00 

700.00 

700.00 


$277,264.57 


In  addition  to  this  it  was  necessary  to  clear  the  old  stream  channel 
where  it  was  used,  the  estimated  cost  being  as  follows : 


Muddy  Creek  1.7  miles  at  $200.00  per  mi.  $ 340.00 

North  Fork  5.2  miles  at  300.00  per  mi.  1,560.00 

South  Fork 14.0  miles  at  500.00  per  mi.  7,000.00 


Total 


.$8,900.00 


This  clearing  of  old  channel  makes  the  entire  estimated  cost  of  the 

project  amount  to  $286,164.57 

Since  the  ditch  was  completed  the  damage  from  overflows  has  been 
practically  eliminated,  except  in  a few  instances  when  some  of  the 
land  near  Rulo  was  flooded.  The  landowners  here  had  petitioned  the 
supervisors  to  be  allowed  to  rush  the  work,  and  had  put  in  a smaller 
dredge  than  was  used  farther  up-stream.  The  result  was  a smaller 
cross-section  ditch,  which  could  not  take  care  of  the  water  delivered 


DRAINAGE  DTSTkTCTS  OF  SOUTHEASTERN  NEBRASKA  l4t 

by  the  larger  ditch  above  until  its  channel  was  eroded  to  the  approxi- 
mate cross-section  area  of  the  larger  ditch.  At  the  present  time  this 
smaller  ditch  has  enlarged  enough  to  take  care  of  the  water. 

Mr.  R.  E.  (irinstead,  who  until  recently  owned  considerable  land 
near  Salem,  in  speaking  of  the  success  of  the  ditch  says : “The  ditch 
is  taking  care  of  the  hood  water  as  is  shown  by  the  increase  of  crops 
on  the  hrst  bottom.  There  has  been  no  overhow  within  the  last 
three  years.” 

The  success  of  the  project  is  best  shown  by  the  increase  in  land 
prices  and  by  the  crops  raised  on  land  formerly  subject  to  overhow. 
Before  the  construction  of  the  ditch  was  assured,  Mr.  Grinstead  sold 
one  farm  which  lay  southeast  of  Salem  for  $65.00  per  acre.  This 
same  land  cannot  he  bought  for  $150.00  per  acre.  Another  farm  of 
240  acres  sold  for  $25.00  per  acre,  and  the  same  land  cannot  he  bought 
for  $100.00  per  acre.  Mr.  Keim  of  Falls  City  bought  80  acres  for 
$50.00  per  acre  just  after  the  ditch  was  completed,  and  has  refused 
$6000.00  for  the  place.  A certain  farm  south  of  Salem  which  was 
considered  the  poorest  and  wettest  farm  on  the  river  bottom  before 
ditching  raised  50  bushels  of  wheat  to  the  acre  in  1914.  Another  farm 
but  little  better  located  raised  75  bushels  of  corn  ])er  acre. 

Richardson  County  Drainage  District  No.  2 

Richardson  County  Drainage  District  No.  2 embraces  the  bottom 
land,  subject  to  damage  from  flood  water,  which  lies  along  the  North 
Fork  of  the  Greater  Nemaha  River  between  the  east  line  of  Section 
22,  T.  2 N.,  R.  14  E.,  (the  up-stream  boundary  of  Richardson  County 
Drainage  District  No.  1)  and  the  Pawnee-Richardson  County  line, 
where  the  ditch  continues  as  Pawnee  County  District  No.  1.  The 
ditch  crosses  the  county  line  about  one-fourth  mile  south  of  the  north- 
west corner  of  Sec.  18,  T.  2 N.,  R.  13  E.  The  boundaries  of  the  dis- 
trict are  shown  on  the  map. 

The  old  river  channel  through  the  district  has  the  characteristic 
stream  bed  and  meanders  of  this  region.  At  one  place,  in  Sec.  17, 
T.  2 N.,  R.  14  E.,  a piece  of  old  stream  channel  has  been  cut  off,  leav- 
ing a feature  similar  to  an  oxbow  lake.  Long  Branch,  which  enters 
the  trunk  stream  just  south  of  the  town  of  Humboldt,  is  the  only 
tributary  stream  of  any  importance  within  the  district.  This  side 
stream  is  approximately  15  miles  in  length  and  drains  an  area  of 
])ossibly  60  or  65  square  miles.  The  grade  of  old  stream  channel  is 


148 


NEBRASKA  GEOLOGICAL  SURA'EY 


probably  not  more  than  2 to  2.5  ft.  per  mile,  while  the  grade  of  the 
valley  is  between  4 and  5 feet  per  mile,  the  flat  grade  of  the  old 
channel,  compared  with  the  valley  grade,  being  due  to  the  tortuous 
meanders.  In  some  places  the  stream  traverses  2 or  3 miles  in  passing 
1 mile  down  the  valley. 

The  main  ditch  channel  through  this  district  is  slightly  over  11  miles 
in  length,  and  the  Long  Branch  lateral  is  approximately  three-fourths 
of  a mile  long.  In  cutting  the  main  ditch  the  old  stream  channel  was 
disregarded,  and  even  in  the  few  places  where  the  two  channels  co- 
incided the  ditch  was  cut  to  grade  without  reference  to  the  old  channel. 
The  cross-section  of  the  main  ditch,  as  shown  in  flgure  6 is  as 
follows : 

The  base  at  grade  is  13  feet,  with  a width  of  30  feet  at  the  surface 
of  the  ground.  There  is  a subchannel  5 feet  wide  and  3 feet  deep 
excavated  in  the  center  of  the  base,  in  accordance  with  the  construction 
generally  used  in  this  part  of  the  country.  The  speciflcations  call  for 
a clean  20-foot  berm  between  the  edge  of  the  cut  and  the  toe  of  the 
waste  bank.  The  waste  bank,  according  to  the  speciflcations,  should 
occupy  a base  of  35  feet,  but  this  detail  was  not  rigidly  adhered  to. 

The  overflow  land  of  the  district  consists  of  5,800  acres,  or  practi- 
cally 9 square  miles,  which  lies  about  equally  on  either  side  of  the 
river.  The  area  will  average  a little  less  than  a mile  in  width ; the 
widest  expanse,  1.5  miles,  lies  just  west  of  Humboldt  and  the  narrow- 
est, three-eighths  of  a mile,  lies  about  1^  miles  southeast  of  Hum- 
boldt. 

The  catchment  basin  of  the  North  Fork  above  the  Pawnee-Richard- 
son  County  line,  the  upper  end  of  the  district,  is  approximately  575 
square  miles,  lying  in  the  following  counties : 


Lancaster 
Gage  . . . 
Johnson  . 
Pawnee  . 
Otoe  .... 


54  sq.  mi. 
100  sq.  mi. 
205  sq.  mi. 
151  sq.  mi. 
5 sq.  mi. 


Total  575  sq.  mi. 

The  conditions  in  this  district  before  ditching  were  quite  similar  to 
those  in  other  districts  on  the  river,  which  have  been  discussed  at  some 
length  on  foregoing  pages. 

The  drainage  district  survey  determined  that  5,800  acres  within  the 
district  were  overflowed  by  the  rise  of  the  river  to  usual  flood  stage. 


DRAINAGE  DISTRICTS  OI^'  SOUTHEASTERN  NERRASKA  14‘) 


1'he  drainage  engineer  on  tliis  work  estimated  the  benefits  to  all  land 
and  properties  involved,  as  v$2(S6,000.00,  ap])ortioned  approximately 
follows : 


b'arni  land 

Highways  

C.,  B.  & Q.  Railroads 


80  ])cr  cent 
] 1 per  cent 
i)  per  cent 


$288, OOP. 00 
;n.4()0.oo 
25. 740. 00 


Total 100  per  cent  $285,200.00 

The  Board  of  Siijtervisors  decided  to  make  the  first  assessment 
large  enough  to  complete  the  ])roject  and  avoid  the  trouble  of  making 
a second  assessment.  Idie  100  ])er  cent  benefit  land  was  estimated  at 
$20.70  per  acre;  the  actual  average  cost,  however,  was  $17.00. 

The  cost  of  the  entire  jtroject  is  divided  as  follows: 

Organization,  administration  and  working  expenses. 


court  costs  and  attorney  fees $ 7.()()4.5t 

Bridges  and  dams  5,105.01 

Damages  for  cut-off  lands  5,88:5.00 

Right-of-way 13.425.4:5 

Construction  74,261.01 


Total  $106,430.76 

The  difference  between  the  estimated  and  actual  cost  of  the  jiroject, 
which  is  something  over  three  dollars  ]ier  acre  for  100  per  cent  benefit 
land,  is  represented  by  money  on  deitosit.  As  late  as  Alay,  1914  this 
money  was  on  deposit  and  will  ])robably  lie  used  in  the  upkeep  of  the 
ditch,  or  it  may  lie  jirorated  and  returned  to  the  land  owners  on  a 
majority  vote  of  the  district. 

This  district  has  not  had  a flood  during  the  five  years,  which  have 
elapsed  since  the  comjiletion  of  this  ditch  and  up-to-date.  Pfowever, 
the  seasons  have  been  somewhat  drier  than  usual  in  this  region.  The 
district  up  to  this  time  has  had  no  expense  for  repairs  or  upkeep. 

The  grade  of  the  ditch,  which  is  practically  the  same  as  that  of  the 
valley,  or  between  4 and  5 feet  per  mile,  is  sufficient  to  take  care  of 
landslides  or  creeps  along  the  banks,  as  well  as  to  scour  its  channel. 
At  present  the  ditch  is  nearly  twice  as  wide  and  considerably  deeper 
than  when  it  was  first  completed.  The  ditch  was  excavated  by  a drag- 
line dredger. 

The  landowners  of  the  district  are  well  jileased  with  the  success  of 
the  ditch.  Mr.  C.  M.  Linn,  of  Humboldt,  says  that  formerly  it  ivas 
merely  a case  of  good  luck  to  be  able  to  harvest  a crop  off*  the  bottom 
land  that  was  subject  to  flood.  There  had  been  a series  of  wet  seasons 
for  several  years  before  the  ditch  was  completed,  and  during  these 


150 


NEBRASKA  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 


years  there  were  no  crops  at  all  on  the  overflowed  land.  The  seasons 
of  1912  and  1913  were  rather  dry,  and  the  best  crops  in  the  district 
were  those  raised  on  lands  lying  between  the  ditch  and  the  old  stream 
channel. 

There  have  been  some  small  overflows  on  the  bottom  land  of  the 
districts  above  since  the  ditch  was  completed,  but  no  overflow  within 
this  district,  except  on  the  very  lowest  piece  of  land,  which  was 
covered  to  a depth  of  3 or  4 inches  for  a few  hours,  causing  no  damage, 
d'he  owner  said  that  it  did  not  do  a “dollar's  worth  of  damage.”  Under 
the  old  conditions  during  floods  this  same  land  would  have  been  cov- 
ered by  several  feet  of  water,  or  “deep  enough  to  swim  a horse.” 

There  was  a two-inch  rain  just  four  days  before  the  writer  visited 
Humboldt  in  April,  1914,  but  there  were  no  flood  conditions,  the 
water  in  the  channel  being  nearly  down  to  its  normal  flow. 

The  following  examples  of  increases  in  land  prices  were  given  by 
Mr.  Linn: 

The  Stabler  farm,  which  lies  two  miles  west  of  Humboldt,  was  on 
the  market  for  years.  As  this  land  was  overflowed  each  year  no  one 
would  ofifer  to  purchase  the  place.  After  the  ditch  was  assured,  but 
before  it  had  been  well  tested,  this  place  sold  for  $100  per  acre  plus 
the  ditch  tax,  a total  of  $120.70  per  acre.  ]\Ir.  Linn  questions  if  at 
present  one  could  buy  it  for  $150  per  acre. 

The  owner  of  the  Richard  Tosland  farm,  just  west  of  Humboldt, 
which  has  already  been  mentioned  as  the  first  land  in  the  district  to 
overflow,  has  refused  $135  per  acre.  Before  the  ditch  was  assured  a 
buyer  for  this  land  could  not  be  found. 

i\Ir.  Nims’  farm,  one  mile  south  of  Humboldt,  is  a 540-acre  tract, 
of  which  220  acres  is  first  bottom  and  the  remainder  second  bench  and 
hill  land.  A few  years  before  the  ditch  was  assured  ]\Ir.  Nims  placed 
this  farm  on  the  market.  It  was  extensively  advertised  at  $65.00  per 
acre  and  the  closest  oft'er  was  $60.00.  Wdiile  the  farm  is  not  on  the 
market  at  present  Mr.  Nims  says  it  would  take  $150.00  per  acre  to 
buy  it. 

Both  i\Ir.  Idnn  and  Mr.  Nims  assert  that  it  is  very  conservative  to 
say  that  first  bottom  land  has  doubled  in  value  within  this  district 
since  the  success,  of  the  ditch  has  been  assured. 

In  a letter  received  at  this  office  i\Iav  8,  1915,  Mr.  Linn  says:  “WT 
are  refunding  $1.50  per  acre  on  100  per  cent  land  and  will  have  about 
83000.00  left  for  the  unkeep  of  the  ditch,  which  expense  up-to-date 
has  been  nractically  nothing,  as  the  ditch  is  widening  and  deepening  all 
the  time.” 


DRAINAGE  DISTRICTS  Ol^'  SOUTHEASTERN  NER,RASKA  l.H 


Pawnee  County  Drainage  District  No.  1 

Pawnee  County  Drainage  District  No.  1 includes  the  Ijottoin  land, 
subject  to  overtiow,  along-  the  North  ]A)rk  of  the  Creater  Nemaha 
River  which  lies  within  Pawnee  County.  This  district  joins  Richard- 
son County  Drainage  District  No.  2 at  the  Pawnee-Richardson  county 
line,  and  Johnson  County  Drainage  District  No.  1 at  the  Johnson- 
FAiwnee  County  line. 

The  stream  bed  of  the  old  river  channel  is  similar  to  that  of  the 
other  districts  of  the  area  under  discussion.  Clear  and  Lynn  Creeks 
are  the  only  side  streams  of  enoug-h  inmortance  to  demand  laterals. 
These  streams  flow  from  the  west  and  enter  the  trunk  stream  a short 
distance  northeast  of  the  town  of  Table  Rock. 

The  grade  of  the  river  valley  through  the  district  is  about  5.28  feet 
to  the  mile.  The  grade  of  the  old  river  channel  is  between  2 and  3 
feet  per  mile. 

The  main  ditch  channel  is  i)racticallv  10  miles  in  length,  and  the 
laterals  on  Clear  and  Lynn  Creeks  are  each  about  1 mile  in  length. 
The  ditch  was  excavated  throus-h  most  of  the  district  without  regard 
to  the  old  river  channel.  In  a few  places  the  old  channel  was  used 
for  short  distances,  as  may  be  seen  by  referring  to  the  district  map. 
When  used,  however,  it  was  deepened  and  cleared,  d'he  main  ditch 
was  designed  with  a 12-foot  base  at  grade,  with  side  slopes  of  1 hori- 
zontal to  2 vertical.  A subchannel  5 feet  wide  and  3 feet  dee])  was 
excavated  in  the  bottom  of  the  main  channel.  This  subchannel  carries 
the  flow  at  low-water  stage.  The  g-rade  line  of  the  main  ditch  and  old 
stream,  the  ditch  grade  is  at  or  below  the  bottom  of  the  river  channel. 
This  allows  the  flow  to  follow  the  ditch  at  low-water  stage.  The 
specifications  for  the  main  ditch  require  a clean  berm  of  25  feet  be- 
tween the  top  of  the  slope  and  the  toe  of  the  waste  bank. 

The  above  design  was  adot)ted  to  save  expense  in  construction. 
With  a fall  of  1 foot  in  1,000  feet  the  velocity  is  enough  to  safely  and 
rapidly  remove  all  earth  material  which  sloughs  in  from  the  sides 
Most  of  the  caving  of  hanks  occurs  when  the  stream ‘is  above  low- 
water  stage,  as  the  hanks  are  then  softened.  The  increased  volume 
and  velocity  at  such  times  give  increased  scour  and  carrying  capacity, 
which  soon  removes  such  obstructions. 

The  land  of  this  district  formerly  damaged  bv  floods  was  estimated 
at  5,731  acres,  or  a little  less  than  9 square  miles.  The  boundary  of 
this  area,  as  shown  on  the  map,  is  very  irregular. 


NEBRASKA  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 


]rj2 


The  catchment  basin  of  the  North  Fork  above  the  Pawnee-Johnson 
County  line  covers  ai^proximately  425  square  miles.  The  engineer  for 
the  district  estimated  the  watershed  above  the  countv  line  as  440 
square  miles.  As  measured  from  the  Map  Showing  Divides  in  South- 
eastern Nebraska  the  watershed  by  counties  is  as  follows: 


Lancaster 
Gage  .... 
Johnson  , 
Otoe  .... 


54  sq.  mi. 
too  sq.  mi. 
265  sq.  mi. 
5 sq.  mi. 


T otal 


424  sq.  mi. 


This  area  during  a maximum  flood  would  contribute  about  3,000 
cubic  feet  per  second  of  flood  water,  and  during  extraordinary  flood 
stage,  which  fortunately  seldom  occurs,  the  discharge  might  reach  or 
even  exceed  4,000  cubic  feet  per  second. 

The  evaluation  of  benefits  showed  4,731  acres  of  farm  land  and 
other  properties,  which  had  received  more  or  less  damage  from  flood 
water.  The  Engineer  estimated  the  entire  benefits  to  all  property 
as  $331,555.03  which  he  apportioned  as  shown  below: 


Land  

Town  lots  in  Tal)le  Rock.  , 
Pawnee  County  Highways 

Ta1)le  Rock  Streets 

C..  B.  & Q.  Railway.  . . 


79.5  per  cent  $26:^721.5:1 

2.1  per  cent  6,995.00 

1:L1  per  cent  ' 43,475.00 

0.5  per  cent  1,500.00 

4.8  per  cent  15,863.50 


Total  100.00  per  cent  $331,555.03 

The  work  in  this  district  affords  an  oiqiortunitv  to  compare  the 
Ifngineer’s  estimate  of  cost  units  with  the  actual  cost  units  at  which 
the  work  was  let. 


Excavation  Main  Channel  

Excavation  Clear  Creek  lateral 

Excavation  Lynn  Creek  lateral 

Cleaning  old  channel 

Right-of-way  per  acre  

Consequential  damages  

Organization,  administration,  etc 

Highway  bridges  

Total  


612,340 

sq.  yd. 

OVc 

$ 58,172.30 

8Ric 

47,:590 

cn.  yd. 

10  c 

4,739.00 

10  c 

:J0,645 

cu.  yd. 

10  c 

3,064.50 

10  c 

7.500 

squares 

40  c 

3,000.00 

40  c 
Mostly 

223.45 

acres 

$60.00 

13,407.00 

$60.00 

Some-land 

higher 

2,000.00 

10,000.00 

13,600.00 


$107,982.80 


Idle  channel  (if  the  ditch  has  a tTrade  of  5.2(S  feet  to  the  mile.  The 
velocity  in  this  channel  when  running  bank-full  is  over  7 feet  per 


DRAINAGE  DISTRICTS  OF  SOUTHEASTERN  NEBRASKA  ir,:5 

second,  twice  the  measured  velocity  of  the  old  river  channel.  The 
capacity  of  the  river  at  maxiinnm  flood  stage  was  about  1,500  cubic 
feet  per  second.  This  leaves  a volume  of  approximately  1,500  cubic 
feet  per  second  to  overflow  the  banks  and  spread  out  over  the  flood 
plain.  The  ditch  will  carry  off  four  times  the  amount  of  water  in  unit 
lime  as  the  old  channel  would  carry.  The  new  channel  does  ikT 
interfere  with  the  carrying  capacity  of  the  old  channel  as  very  nearly 
the  same  volume  of  water  passes  through  the  old  channel  as  ])rior  to 
digging  the  ditch.  The  ditch  channel,  however,  is  widening  and  deep- 
ening its  effective  cross-section  by  scour  and  the  sloughing  of  the 
sides.  The  steeper  grade,  and  the  absence  of  meanders,  tend  to  keep 
the  channel  swe])t  clean. 

The  success  of  this  project  is  fairly  certain,  as  the  ditch  has  been 
in  operation  for  some  time.  However,  since  its  completion,  there  has 
been  no  extraordinary  flood  stage  so  one  could  not  possibly  say  as  to 
the  results  in  such  a case,  though  it  is  obvious  that  a flood  would  not 
be  as  destructive  as  before  the  comi)letion  of  the  ditch. 

The  beneficial  effect  of  the  work  is  best  shown  by  land  prices  and 
the  increased  crops  harvested.  Mr.  \V.  A.  Fellers,  who  owns  con- 
siderable first  bottom  land  near  Table  Rock,  states  that  lie  considers 
the  money  spent  in  ditching  an  exceedingly  good  investment.  His 
entire  assessment  was  $2,700.00.  One  60-acre  tract  (all  100  per  cent 
benefit  land  ) owned  by  Mr.  Fuellers,  lies  a short  distance  southeast  of 
Table  Rock.  He  was  never  sure  of  harvesting  a crop  from  this  land. 
One  season  an  overflow,  following  a heavy  rainfall  farther  up  the 
valley,  carried  away  the  entire  crop  of  wheat  in  the  shock.  Before 
ditching  such  overflows  would  cover  the  ground  for  several  days  and 
greatly  damage  the  crop.  Since  ditching,  however,  if  the  water  rises 
to  the  land  at  all,  it  begins  to  recede  within  two  to  four  hours  and  does 
the  crops  little  or  no  damage. 

Mr.  E.  D.  Howe,  whose  farm  lies  approximately  6 miles  north  of 
Table  Rock,  gives  some  interesting  data  on  overflowed  lands  and  land 
prices.  Part  of  his  farm  is  on  the  North  Fork  bottom,  a considerable 
portion  of  it  being  100  per  cent  benefit  land.  Mr.  Howe  has  had  no 
overflow  water  on  his  land  since  the  new  channel  was  completed.  In 
the  spring  of  1912  melting  snow  caused  a flood  across  the  Johnson 
County  line  above  his  ])lace,  but  the  new  channel  carried  it  away  with- 
out the  low  ground  being  overflowed. 

There  is  one  farm,  mostly  100  per  cent  benefit  land  which  had  no 
buyer  when  listed  at  $30.00  per  acre.  After  the  ditch  was  assured  the 


154 


NEBRASKA  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 


owner  raised  his  ])rice  to  $75.00  per  aere  and  later  to  $90.00  per  acre. 

d'he  following  is  taken  from  a letter  received  at  this  office  on  May 

10,  1915  from  Ylr.  Howe: 

“In  lime,  1914  heavy  rains  in  Johnson  County  caused  the  Nemaha 
to  overflow,  destroying  wheat  and  damaging  corn.  Wdien  the  flood 
reached  the  drainage  ditch  in  Pawnee  County,  the  ditch  took  care  of 
the  water  so  no  damage  was  done  in  this  district.’’ 

Johnson  County  Drainage  District  No.  1 

Johnson  County  Drainage  District  No.  1,  which  lies  along  the  North 
Fork  of  the  Greater  Nemaha  River,  begins  on  the  down-stream  end, 
at  the  Pawnee-Johnson  County  line,  in  Sec.  3,  T.  4 N.,  R.  12  E.,  and 
continues  upstream  to  a point  within  Sec.  21,  T.  6 N.,  R.  9 E.,  one 
and  one-half  miles  northwest  of  Sterling. 

Idle  old  river  channel  through  this  district  has  meandered  consid- 
erably. The  grade  of  the  old  channel  is  2.0  feet  to  2.5  feet  in  the 
lower  part  of  the  district.  In  the  upper  part,  the  meanders  are  less 
pronounced  and  the  grade  is  3.5  feet  to  5 feet  per  mile.  \Try  little  of 
the  catchment  basin  along  the  district  lies  on  the  east  side  of  the  trunk 
stream,  as  the  divide  between  the  two  Nemahas  follows  close  to  the 
North  Fork  from  Tecumseh  to  Sterling.  On  the  opposite  side  of  the 
trunk  stream  numerous  tributaries  flow  into  the  North  Fork  through 
out  the  district.  Six  of  these  tributaries.  Hooker  Creek,  Deer  Creek, 
P)attie’s  Branch,  Yankee  Creek,  Badger  Creek,  and  Elk  Creek,  are  of 
enough  importance  to  demand  laterals. 

The  main  ditch  channel  through  the  district  is  divided  into  four  sec- 
tions. Section  No.  1 extends  from  the  head  of  the  district  to  the 
junction  of  the  Yankee  Creek  lateral.  Section  No.  2 extends  from 
the  down-stream  end  of  Section  No.  1 to  the  northwest  corner  of  Sec. 

11,  T.  5 N.,  R.  11  E.  Section  No.  3 consists  of  the  cut-off  ditch 
within  Sec.  11,  T.  5 N.,  R.  HE.  Section  4 consists  of  the  remaining 
ditch  work  down  stream  to  the  county  line.  In  Sections  Nos.  1,  2 and 
3,  practically  none  of  the  old  river  channel  was  used,  while  in  Section 
No.  4 ap])roximately  one-half  the  distance  covered  by  the  ditch  follows 
the  old  channels. 

There  are  two  levees  in  this  district.  The  longer  one,  which  is  one 
mile  west  of  Sterling,  is  one-half  mile  in  length;  and  the  other,  just 
up  stream  from  the  point  where  the  Chicago,  Burlington  and  Quincy 
Railway  crosses  the  ditch  about  one  mile  northwest  of  Tecumseh,  is 
only  550  feet  in  length. 


DRAINAGE  DISTRICTS  OF  SOUTHEASTERN  NERRASKA  155 


Fig.  7. — Cross-section  of  main  ditch,  Drainage  District  No.  1,  upper  end, 
Johnson  County. 


Fig.  8. — Cross-sections  2,  8,  and  4,  of  main  ditch,  Drainage  District  No.  1, 
lower  end,  Johnson  County. 


Fig.  9. — Cross-section  of  a lateral. 


156  NEBRASKA  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 


10.— Dredge-boat  and  boat  house  at  mouth  of  the  Little  Nemaha  River.  Photographed  by  E.  E.  Schramm. 


DRAINAGE  DISTRICTS  OI^'  SOUTHEASTERN  NERRASKA  157 


The  main  ditch  alon^  the  North  Fork  \Tdley  has  apiiroximately 
19.5  miles  of  new  channel  and  4 miles  of  old  channel  which  has  been 
cleared  and  dee])ened.  The  laterals  are  ^iv’en  in  tabular  form  below  : 

Hooker  Creek  lateral 1.50  mi. 

Deer  Creek  lateral 55  mi. 

\Tnkee  Creek  lateral 5.40  mi. 

Rattie’s  l>ranch  lateral • 40  mi. 

Piadger  Creek  lateral 55  mi. 

Elk  Creek  lateral 1.00  mi. 

Total  length  of  laterals 7.20  mi. 

The^  base  of  the  main  ditch  channel  at  grade  is  10  feet  in  Section 
No.  1,  and  12  feet  in  Sections  2,  and  4.  The  laterals  all  have  8-foot 
bases  at  grade.  The  specifications  call  for  a 9-foot  crown  on  the  two 
levees,  with  a slope  of  4 to  1 on  the  stream  side  and  2 to  1 on  the  land 
side.  These  various  cross-sections  are  shown  in  Figs.  7,  8 and  9. 

The  catchment  basin  above  the  head  of  the  district  covers  approxi- 
mately 155  square  miles.  As  measured  from  the  May  showing  the 
Divides  of  Southeastern  Nebraska  the  watershed  by  counties  is  as 
follows : 

Lancaster  54  sq.  mi. 

Gage  75  sq.  mi. 

Tobnson  -5  sq.  mv 

Otoe 20  s(i.  mi. 

Total  154  sq.  mi. 

The  watershed  above  the  Pawnee-Johnson  County  line  embraces  424 
square  miles.  14iis  leaves  270  scpiare  miles  of  watershed  draining  into 
the  ditch  within  the  district. 

The  Engineer’s  estimate  of  the  yardage  is  given  in  detail  below : 

M.\tn  Ditch 

.Sec.  No.  1,  10  ft.  base  est.  yardage 501,50!)  cii.  yds. 

Sec.  No.  2,  12  ft.  base  est.  yardaee 501,054  cn.  yds. 

.Sec.  No.  5,  12  ft.  base  est.  yardage 27.682  cn.  yds. 

Sec.  No.  4,  12  ft.  base  est.  yardage 200,565  cn.  yds. 

Total  1,051,488  cu.  vds. 

L.\ter.\ls 

Laterals  8 ft.  l)ase  slope  1 to  1 6 ft.  lierm. 

Hooker  Creek  est.  yardage 42  516  cn.  yds. 

Deer  Creek  est.  yardage 51.814  cu.  yds. 

Rattie’s  Branch  est.  yardage 28,000  cu.  yds. 

Yankee  Creek  est.  yardage 118,411  cu.  yds. 

Badger  Creek  est.  yardage 18,595  cu.  yds. 

Elk  Creek  est.  vardage 40012  cu.  vds. 

Levee  9 ft.  top  slope  1^2  to  1 yardage TI.SOO  cu.  vds. 

Total 20. ^'48  cu.  yds. 

Grand  total  yardage  132,536  cu.  yds. 


158 


NEBRASKA  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 


Two  assessments  had  been  made  by  the  supervisors  up  to  the  time 
the  writer  visited  the  district.  The  first  was  $180,000.00  and  the  sec- 
ond $60,000.00.  At  that  time  the  ditch  was  still  in  the  process  of  con- 
struction and  had  not  been  tested  out.  However,  there  is  absolutely 
no  doubt  as  to  its  success,  since  the  ditches  further  down  stream  have 
proven  successful  under  conditions  more  adverse  than  those  in  this 
district. 


Nemaha  County  Drainage  District  No.  2 

The  Nemaha  County  Drainage  District  No.  2 was  organized  several 
years  ago  for  the  purpose  of  reclaiming  and  benefiting  the  overflowed 
land,  and  the  land  damaged  by  seepage,  which  lies  along  the  bottoms 
of  the  Little  Nemaha  River  ATlley  within  Nemaha  County.  The  dis- 
trict begins  on  the  up-stream  and  where  the  river  crosses  the  Nemaha- 
Otoe  County  line  and  continues  to  the  point  where  the  Little  Nemaha 
empties  into  the  Missouri  River. 

Idle  land  benefited  by  and  subject  to  assessment  for  the  ditches  exca- 
vacted  in  this  drainage  district  may  be  roughly  described  as  an  area 
22.5  miles  in  length  and  a little  less  than  1.5  miles  in  width,  ddie  land 
in  this  district  is  divided  into  very  nearly  equal  areas  by  the  Little 
Nemaha  River.  The  benefited  area  is  approximately  31.4  square 
miles. 

The  entire  watershed  of  this  stream  is  about  1,050  square  miles.  The 
portion  of  the  catchment  basin  draining  through  the  main  channel  of 
the  river,  at  the  point  where  it  crosses  the  Nemaha-Otoe  County  line, 
is  given  by  counties  as  follows : 

Lancaster 5G  sq.  mi. 

Cass  5!)  sq.  mi. 

Johnson  130  sq.  me 

Otoe 525  sq.  mi. 

Total  760  sq.  mi. 

ddie  remaining  280  square  miles  drains  into  the  main  channel  down 
stream  from  the  Nemaha-Otoe  County  line,  and  is  given  by  counties 
as  follows : 

Otoe  31  sq.  mi. 

Nemaha  242  sq.  mi. 

Richardson  7 sq.  mi. 

Total  280  sq.  mi. 

For  location  of  the  above  drainage  see  the  map  of  Divides  in  South- 
eastern Nebraska. 


DRAINAGE  DISTRICTS  OI'  SOUTD  EASTERN  NIGIRASKA  l.V.) 


\:{g_  H. — The  Little  Nemaha  River,  about  75  yards  al)Ove  its  juncture  with  the  Missouri  River,  spanned  hy  the 
Turlington  bridge.  Photographed  hy  E.  F.  Schramm. 


NEBRASKA  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 


IGO 

Tlirouglioiit  the  drainage  district  under  discussion  the  general  course 
of  the  river  shows^  a peculiar  persistency  of  direction.  The  stream 
itself,  however,  is  very  crooked,  and  in  places  meanders  2 and  even  3 
miles  in  passing  through  a single  section.  The  average  grade  of  the 
valley  is  a little  less  than  4 feet  per  mile,  (actually  averaging  0.75  foot 
in  1,000  feet)  so  that  these  meanders,  esiiecially  in  the  lower  part  of 
the  district,  reduce  the  grade  on  much  of  the  old  main  channel  to 
slightly  over  1.0  feet  per  mile.  A grade  as  flat  as  this  even  in  a 
straight,  clean  channel  would  cause  very  little  or  no  scour.  Taking 
into  consideration  the  many  obstructions  of  the  old  channel  of  the 
river,  such  as  drift-dams,  fallen  trees,  and  meanders,  it  is,  therefore, 
evident  that  there  was  no  scour.  Air.  A.  AT  Alunn,  the  evaluating 
engineer  for  the  district,  says  in  his  report  that  in  places  these  barriers 
of  accumulated  debris  had  decreased  the  eft'ective  flow  along  the  main 
channel  by  30  to  35  per  cent.  This  statement  may  be  taken  as  quite 
conservative.  It  is  readily  seen  that  this  stream,  with  its  tortuous 
meanders,  barriers,  flat  grade,  and  low  velocity,  was  in  the  process  of 
filling  its  bed,  which  decreased  its  effective  cross-section  area.  With 
the  above  conditions  in  mind,  it  is  evident  that  the  flood  waters  would 
become  more  and  more  destructive.  At  the  time  of  evaluation  of  the 
benefits,  over  20,000  acres  in  Nemaha  County  sustained  more  or  less 
damage  from  actual  overflows  or  from  see])age.  For  eight  years 
before  the  ditch  was  completed  the  growing  seasons  were  wet,  and  the 
attending  overflows  destroyed  or  greatly  damaged  the  crops  each  year. 
Air.  Sylvester  Reed,  of  Auburn,  says  that  on  some  of  the  100  per  cent 
benefit  lands  the  “income  did  not  pay  the  taxes.”  The  lowest  of  the 
overflowed  lands  were  entirely  abandoned  for  agricultural  purposes. 

Idle  evaluating  engineer  rated  a very  large  ])roportion  of  the  20,085 
acres  benefited  by  this  drainage  system  as  100  per  cent  land.  His 
rating  on  the  100  per  cent  benefit  land  was  $40.00  per  acre,  and  the  first 
assessment  was  $13.71  per  acre.  This  fund  was  found  to  be  insuf- 
ficient for  the  proposed  work,  so  a second  assessment  of  1^5  per  cent 
of  the  first  was  levied,  making  a total  of  $15.7665  per  acre  for  100  per 
cent  lands.  The  following  statement  gives  a summary  of  the  two 
assessments,  delinquent  taxes,  and  the  reduction  of  the  first  assessment 


due  to  errors : 

Eirst  assessment  $213,124.41 

Errors  in  evaluation  2,711.29 

$210,413.12 

Delinquent  taxes  3,862.23 

Second  assessment iJO.TlS.lG 

Total  $244,993.81 


DRAINAGE  DISTRICTS  OF  SOUTHEASTERN  NEP>RASKA 


K)! 


12. — Bottom  land,  a1)ont  lp2  miles  southeast  of  Nemaha.  Typical  of  Nemaha  River  bottoms.  Photographed 
F.  Schramm. 


162 


NEBRASKA  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 


This  represents  the  total  paid  by  the  landowners  of  the  district. 
Instead  of  issuing  bonds  of  a high  rate  of  interest  for  a term  of  years, 
the  assessments  were  levied  as  a flat  tax.  The  Board  of  Supervisors 
decided  that  the  landowners  could  borrow  money  at  a lower  rate  of 
interest  than  that  which  would  have  to  be  paid  on  a bond  issue,  and 
also  that  the  landowners  could  pay  the  jirincipal  several  years  before 
the  bonds  could  mature.  The  first  assessment  of  $210,000.00  was  col- 
lected within  one  year. 

Below  is  a summary  of  the  entire  assessment  list : 


Landowners  $244,993.81 

Nemaha  Conntv  highways 26,339.10 

C.,  B.  & Q.  Ry.  Co 2,226.26 

Mo.  P.  Ry.  Co 16.023.07 


Total  $289,582  24 


The  County  Highway  Commissioners  made  a contract  with  the  dis- 
trict to  construct  and  maintain  all  bridges  made  necessary  by  the 
ditches  within  the  district.  This  was  to  substitute  for  the  first  assess- 
ment, and  the  county  was  to  be  excused  from  paying  any  further 
assessments. 

d'he  Missouri  Pacific  Railway  Company  presented  a bill  for 
$18,000.00  for  river  inijirovcments  already  completed,  to  offset  their 
first  assessment,  and  contracted  to  be  excused  from  further  assess- 
ments. 

The  usual  preliminary  and  location  lines  were  run  to  obtain  the  data 
necessary  for  the  engineer's  calculations  as  to  the  size  of  the  ditches 
required.  The  specifications  for  the  main  channel  state  that  the  ditch 
must  have  a minimum  depth  of  14  feet.  At  the  Nemaha-Otoe  County 
line  the  width  at  grade  was  to  be  16  feet,  increasing  gradually  to  25 
feet  near  the  Missouri  River.  The  main  channel  throughout  its  entire 
length  has  a subchannel  3 feet  wide  by  5 feet  in  the  center  of  the  ditch. 
The  side  slopes  were  to  be  1 foot  horizontal  to  1 foot  vertical,  and  a 
clean  10-foot  berm  was  to  be  left  between  the  top  of  the  bank  and  the 
toe  of  the  waste  bank.  4'he  grade  of  the  main  channel  averaged  0.7a 
foot  in  1,000  feet. 

ddie  engineer's  estimate  of  the  cost  of  the  entire  system  of  drainage 


was  as  follows : 

■Main  channel,  1,641.220  cn.  yd.  at  9c $147,709.80 

Laterals,  61:5,215  cu.  yd.  at  lljAc 70,519.70 

Right-of-way  damages,  etc 20,364.10 

County  highway  Inddges  26,800.00 

Railway  bridges  7,245.00 

Mill  site  damages 1,869.00 


Total  $274,507.60 


DRAINAGE  DISTRICTS  OF  SOUTHEASTERN  NEBRASKA  UH 


The  contract  for  the  entire  district  was  let  in  Noveinl^er,  1909,  to 
the  Hummer  Construction  Com])any  of  Marion,  Oliio.  The  work  on 
the  main  channel  began  in  March,  1910,  and  was  finished  in  December, 
1911.  Some  of  the  smaller  laterals  were  sulilet  and  one  of  these  sub- 
contractors did  not  finish  until  late  in  1913. 

The  main  channel,  as  let  to  the  head  contractor,  consisted  of  94,911 
feet  of  new  main  channel  (atiproximately  17.98  miles)  and  24,659 
feet  of  old  river  channel  to  he  cleared  (ajijiroximately  4.67  miles). 
This  makes  the  present  main  channel  22.65  miles  in  length. 

The  final  estimate  made  after  the  work  was  completed  is  as  follows : 


Main  Channel ; 

Excavation,  1,568,587  cu.  yd.  at  7^c $121,565.40 

Clearing  old  channel,  25,600  squares  at  10c 2,560.00 

Excess  clearing  on  right-of-way 54.50 


Total  cost  of  main  channel $124,17<).00 

Total  cost  of  laterals 58.231.28 

Total  $182,411.18 


The  expenses  of  the  original  organization  was  $974.06  and  that  of 
administration  up  to  April,  1914,  was  $17,904.43. 

The  district  after  paying  all  expenses,  salaries  and  damages  to  date, 
have  aproximately  $5,000.00  left  from  the  entire  assessments  made. 

In  general,  the  landowners  of  the  district  are  well  pleased  with  the 
success  of  the  ditch  work.  They  say  there  has  been  no  damage  done 
by  flood  since  the  ditch  has  been  in  operation. 

Mr.  M.  T.  Connor,  of  Auburn,  who  owns  many  acres  of  land  on  the 
river  bottoms,  says  that  most  of  the  land  has  douliled  in  value  since 
the  success  of  the  ditch  was  assured.  Land  to  the  south  of  Auburn 
that  could  formerly  be  bought  for  $50.00  per  acre,  is  now  held  at 
$75.00  to  $100.00  per  acre.  The  land  prices  before  the  district  was 
organized  ranged  from  $35.00  to  $50.00  per  acre. 

Field  Work 

In  the  spring  of  1914  the  writer  made  an  extended  trip  through 
the  drainage  districts  of  the  area  discussed  in  this  report.  This  field 
work  was  classified  as : 

( 1 ) Examination  of  district  records. 

(2)  Inspection  of  ditches,  levees,  and  land  subject  to  overflow. 

(3)  Interviews  with  landowners  relative  to  conditions,  crops,  and 
land  values  before  and  after  the  various  districts  were  ditched. 


164 


NEBRASKA  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 


Acknowledgment 

"J'he  writer  is  much  indebted  to  iMessrs.  A.  R.  Keim,  C.  F.  Buckholz, 
and  Judge  John  Gagnon,  of  Falls  City;  i\Ir.  R.  E.  Grimstead,  a Drain- 
age Commissioner,  of  Salem;  Messrs.  C.  AL  Linn  and  Joy  Nims  of 
Humboldt;  iMessrs.  W.  A.  Fellers  and  E.  D.  Howe  of  Table  Rock; 
Air.  R.  C.  Gore,  engineer,  of  Tecumseb,  and  Messrs.  Sylvester  Reed 
and  M.  C.  Connors  of  Auburn,  for  their  courtesy  in  supplying  maps 
and  data;  and  to  Dr.  Erwin  H.  Barbour,  State  Geologist,  and  to  Prof. 
E.  F.  Schramm,  of  the  University  of  Nebraska,  Lincoln,  for  their  ad- 
vice and  assistance. 

The  writer  has  quoted  freely  from  the  reports  of  Alessrs.  Elliott 
and  Frazer,  Drainage  Engineers  for  the  Department  of  Agriculture, 
and  Air.  D.  D.  Price,  State  Engineer  of  Nebraska.  Professor  Schramm 
furnished  the  photographs  for  the  cuts  used  in  this  paper.  The  dis- 
trict maps  were  re-drawn  by  the  writer  from  the  originals  which  were 
prepared  by  Air.  A.  AT  Alunn  of  Kansas  City,  Alissouri,  and  Air.  R.  C. 
Gore  of  Tecumseb,  Nebraska.  The  Alap  Showing  Divides  of  South- 
eastern Nebraska  was  compiled  by  the  writer  from  the  United  States 
Geological  Survey  topographic  maps  and  from  various  county  maps. 

The  University  of  Nebraska, 

Lincoln,  Nebraska,  June  1915. 


Distributed  February  26,  1917. 


T 

1 

I 

. l«r 


02 

NiaSRASKA  (R'.OLOCICAL  SURN'RY 
\'()LUMK  7,  Part  18 

NOTJPS  ON  THP  SKUI.P  OF  MFTORIP)l)ON 
By  Im<win  11.  Barr.our  and  Haroij)  j.  Cook 

In  1909,  Matthew  and  Cook’  descril)e(l  the  remains  of  eertain 
Meryehyi  from  the  I.ower  Pliocene  Snake  Creek  beds,  in  Sioux 
Comity,  Nebraska,  representing'  the  most  recent  development  known 
in  this  group  of  oreodonts.  Power  jaws  were  used  as  the  basis  for 
the  tyjies  there  described.  In  1913  a very  good  skull,  representing 
this  genus,  was  found  in  Brown  County,  Nebraska,  by  the  senior 
writer,  in  beds  whose  fauna  is  closely  related  to  that  of  the  Snake 
Creek  beds.  Although  several  lower  jaws,  the  up])er  dentition,  and 
many  stray  teeth,  have  already  been  found,  this  is  lielieved  to  he 
the  first  known  good  skull  of  Metoreodon.  This  specimen  (No. 
6-7-11-13,  Nebraska  State  Museum)  agrees  fairly  well  in  size  and 
character  with  Metoreodon  profectus  AI.  and  C.,  and  the  teeth  show 
about  the  condition  expected  to  correlate  it  with  that  type. 

Metoreodon  profectus  was  liased  by  Matthew  and  Cook  u])on  a 
lower  jaw,  accordingly  this  skull  is  not  directly  comparable.  But  a 
lower  jaw  of  a younger  individual  from  Plum  Creek,  Brown  County, 
agrees  well.  This  jaw  (No.  5-7-11-13,  Nebraska  State  ■Museum) 
differs  noticeal)ly  in  p,,  which  is  very  large  : hut  this  may  be  a variation 
due  to  sex.  The  frontal  region  of  the  Brown  County  skull  is  flat 
or  concave.  The  nasals  are  slender  and  weak.  A well-defined  facial 
pit  extends  from  the  orbit  almost  to  the  nasal  notch.  The  orbit  is 
of  very  irregular  outline  extending  upward  and  slightly  forward. 
The  zygomata  are  deep  and  flat. 

In  Oreodon-  culhertsoni  from  the  Wdiite  River  Oligocene,  the 
posterior  limit  of  the  anterior  border  of  the  narial  aperture  is  situ- 
ated above  the  space  between  p^  and  the  canine.  In  the  ‘“Mery- 
chyus”’^  harrisonensis  type  from  the  Lower  Miocene,  it  extends  to 

] Matthew,  W.  D.  and  Cook.  H.  J. — A Pliocene  Fauna  from  Western  Nebraska. 
Bull.  Am.  Mus.  Nat.  Hist.  Vol.  XXVI.  Art.  XXVH,  pp.  361-414. 

2 While  Merycoidodon  has  priority  over  Oreodon  and  is  therefore  technically 

the  correct  name  for  this  genus,  the  term  Oreodon  has  come  into  such 
general  use  that  it  seems  best  to  retain  it,  at  least  for  popular  purposes,  as 
the  common  name  for  this  group. 

3 The  typical  Merychyus  is  apparently  from  the  Upper  Miocene,  and  is  char- 

acteristically more  hypsodont  than  the  closely  related  forms  from  the 
Lower  Miocene,  of  which  “Merychyus”  harrisonensis  is  tvpical. 


16G 


NEBRASKA  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 


Fig.  1.— Skull  of  Metoreoclon  profectus,  No.  6-7-11-1:5,  from  Devil’s  Gulch,  Brown  County,  Nebraska. 
Mandible,  No.  5-7-11-1:5,  from  Plum  Creek,  Brown  County,  Nebraska,  xi.  Collections  of  Hon.  Charles 
Morrill,  The  Nebraska  State  Museum. 


1 

"I 


SKULL  OF  METOREODON 


167 


■Metoreodon  profectus;  a,  palatine  view  of  skull,  x b,  dentition,  natural  size. 


168 


NEBRASKA  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 


Fig.  3. — Metoreodon  profectus,  type  specimen,  Sioux  County,  Nebraska,  Lower  Miocene,  x 2/3. 
Modified  after  Matthew  and  Cook. 


SKUT.L  Ol-  MRTOREODON 


1()!) 

a point  above  tlie  space  between  p“  and  \y\  In  Aletoreodon  it  is 
above  a point  between  p‘‘  and  p^.  ddie  progressive  tendency  of  the 
nasal  opening  to  migrate  l)ackward,  is  undoubtedly  correlated  with 
the  development  of  the  prehensil  function  of  the  nose  and  ii])i)er  lip. 
In  Merycochoerns  and  Pronomotheriiim  this  was  carried  to  a far 
greater  degree,  and  the  later  types  undoubtedly  ])ossessed  very  ta])ir- 
like  proboscides.  To  a less  degree  this  was  true  of  IMetoreodon. 
Correlated  with  this  is  the  i)rogressive  development  of  the  facial  pit 
in  front  of  the  or1)it,  which  is  rather  small  in  Oreodon  and  ipro- 
gressively  larger  in  the  later  types.  It  has  a very  wide  ex])anse,  and,  as 
has  been  suggested  elsewhere,  probably  is  largely  due  to  the  develo])- 
ment  of  the  muscles  which  control  the  flexure  of  th.e  snout.  The  in- 


I"ig.  4. — Oreodon  ( Merycoidodon ) cul1)erts(mi,  palatine  view,  xT/l). 


fraorbital  foramen  is  situated  al)ove  the  fourth  premolar  in  Metor- 
eodon.  In  Merycoidodon  it  is  above  \y\  In  “Merychyus”  it  is 
situated  above  tbe  interval  of  the  third  and  fourth  premolars;  in 
Merycochoerns  it  is  above  the  interval  l)et\veen  m^  and  m-. 

In  Oreodon  culbertsoni,  the  facial  iportion  of  the  skull  tends  to  be 
rather  high  and  narrow,  flattening  and  widening  in  the  “Merychyus’' 
tyj^e.  In  Metoreodon  the  skull  is  relatively  wide  and  flat  with 
widely  flaring  and  strongly  developed  zygomatic  arches,  such  as  arc 
found  in  the  Merycochoerns  group.  As  a result  of  the  great  develop- 
ment of  the  infraorbital  arch,  the  orbit  is  situated  much  nearer  the 
top  of  the  skull  than  in  Oreodon,  and  the  outward  flaring  of  the 
arch  beneath  the  orbit  gives  the  skull  much  the  appearance  of  having 
the  eyes  on  the  top  of  the  head.  There  is  no  very  marked  change  in 


170 


NEBRASKA  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 


the  relative  length  of  the  posterior  and  the  anterior  halves  of  the 
skull  in  relation  to  each  other.  The  greatest  change  is  the  relative  en- 
largement of  the  maxillae.  These  are  relatively  longer  and  heavier 
than  in  the  earlier  types  and  the  palate  is  very  broad.  In  the  molars 
and  fourth  premolars,  there  is  little  change  from  Merycoidodon  to 
Metoreodon  save  in  the  lengthening  of  the  crowns.  In  the  former  the 
extreme  height  of  the  enamel  on  m-"  is  about  10  millimeters,  in  the 
latter  it  is  about  40  millimeters.  In  Metoreodon  we  find  the  most 
hypsodont  teeth  so  far  reported  among  the  oreodonts.  The  canine  is 
reduced  and  the  three  anterior  premolars  show  marked  advancement 
in  complication  over  the  typical  Merychyus. 

Unfortunately  the  posterior  ])ortion  of  this  skull  is  only  partly 
preserved  so  that  little  light  is  shed  on  its  characters. 


Fig.  5. — Merychyiis  harrisonensis,  palatine  view,  x 7/9. 


MEASUREMENTS 

mm.  inches 


Skull,  length,  incisors  to  condyles  inclusive 2.S3  10.0 

incisors  to  post  narial  border LSI  6.0 

width  across  zygomata 168  6.6 

width  across  condyles 46  1.8 

width  i^  to  i-*^ vI5  1.4 

width  c to  c 53  2.0 

length  i^  to  nU 147  5.7 


The  three  phases  of  the  Pliocene  in  northern  and  northwestern 
Nebraska  in  the  ascending  order  arc  the  Valentine,  the  Snake  Creek, 
and  the  Devil’s  Gulch  beds. 


SKULL  ()1<  METOREODON 


171 


Eig.  6. — An  oreodont,  Merycoidodon  culhertsoni,  commonly  known  l)y  col- 
lectors as  Oreodon  cnlbcrtsoni.  Oligoccne.  This  is  the  commonest  and  best 
known  of  the  oreodonts,  and  is  the  most  ahnndant  mammalian  fossil  in  our  had 
lands.  Modified  after  Scott  and  llorsefall. 


Fig.  7. — An  oreodont,  Merycochoeriis  propriiis,  Sioux  County,  Nebraska. 
Lower  Miocene.  Modified  after  Scott  and  Horsefall. 


Fig.  8. — An  oreodont,  Promerycochoerus  carrikeri,  Sioux  County,  Ne- 
braska. Lower  Miocene.  Modified  after  a drawing  by  Scott  and  Horsefall. 


\72 


NEBRASKA  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 


The  known  fauna  of  Devil's  Gulch  is  as  follows : Testudo 
orthopygia,  testudo  sp.,  Aelurodon,  Tephyrocyon,  Cynarctus  cruci- 
dens\,  Cyon,  Teinmocyon  ( ?),  Mustelid  sp.,  Eusmilus  whitfordi-,  Oxy- 
dactylus,  Alticamelus,  Procamelus,  Pliauchenia,  VIetoreodon  cf.  pro- 
fectus'k  Merycodus  neeatus,  Teleoceras,  Parahippus,  Llypohippus 
inatthewi'^,  Alerychippus,  Protohippus,  Pliohippus,  Hipparion,  Tetra- 
helodon  willistoni'’',  (?)  Juihypodon,  huibelodon  morrilli^'’. 

The  University  of  Nebraska,  Distributed  April  15,  1917. 

Lincoln,  Nebraska,  July,  1915. 


1 I ‘.arbour,  Erwin  H.  and  Cook,  Harold  J.  Two  new  Fossil  Dogs  of  the 

genus  Cynarctus,  from  Neljraska.  Nel)r.  Geol.  Survey,  \’ol.  4,  Bull.  36a, 
Part  15. 

2 Bar1)onr,  Erwin  H.  and  Cook.  Harold  J.  A new  Saber  Toothed  Cat  from 

Nebraska.  Nebr.  Geol.  Survey,  \T1.  4.  Part  17,  Bull.  36c. 

,2  I'he  present  paper. 

4 Barbour,  Erwin  H.  A new  Fossil  Horse,  llypohippus  matthewi.  Nebr. 

Geol.  Survey,  \T1.  4,  Part  10,  Bull.  32. 

,5  Barl)onr,  Erwin  H.  Mammalian  I'ossils  from  Devil’s  Gulch,  Nebr.  Geol. 
Survey,  \'ol.  4,  Part  1,  Bull.  33. 


63 


NEBRASKA  (;b:()L()(;iCAR  SUR\’I^:V 
\'()i.uME  7,  Part  19 

SKUIJ.  Ol'  Al'J.UKODON  PI  ATYRI I INUS,  SP.  NOW 

J5Y  ERWIN  II.  RARROUR  AND  HAROLD  J.  COOK 

The  skull  of  Aelurodon  platyrhinus  is  that  of  a mature  individual, 
with  dentition  little  worn,  (No.  7(S-1 1-8-15,  Nebraska  State  Museum), 
collected  by  J.  B.  Burnett  and  A.  C.  Wdiitford,  near  \kdentine.  Cherry 
County,  Nebraska. 

The  Valentine  beds  are  |)rol)ably  a lower  phase  than  either  the 
Snake  Creek  or  the  Devil’s  (lulch.  Fortunately  this  skull  is  prac^ 
tically  perfect,  being  hard,  strong,  and  almost  free  from  crushing  or 
distortion.  The  dentition  is  complete  exce])ting  the  right  canine, 
and  the  teeth,  though  fully  emerged,  are  essentially  unworn.  The 
left  paroccipital  process  and  the  zygomatic  ])r()cess  of  the  left 
squamosal  are  wanting.  In  point  of  size  Aelurodon  platyrhinus  is 
oue-fifth  larger  than  Aelurodon  saevusC  a trifle  larger  than  A. 
wheelerianus^,  but  not  quite  so  large  as  A.  haydeni'k  These  three 
are  based  on  lower  jaws. 

The  width  of  the  palate  is  noticeable,  exceeding  that  of  A.  saevus. 
The  post-narial  aperture  is  very  broad  anteriorly,  27.5  mm.  but  nar- 
rows rapidly  to  half  as  much  posteriorly. 

This  skull  is  exceedingly  broad  across  the  zygomatic  arches,  a^)- 
proximately  6.5  inches  (162  mm.),  and  very  low  and  broad  across  the 
nasals.  The  high,  sharp,  sagittal  crest  arches  backward  uniting  with 
the  occipital  crest  in  a very  pronounced  posterior  extension.  The  nose 
is  so  flattened  above  the  roots  of  the  canines  as  to  appear  artificially 
compressed.  In  the  basi-cranial  region,  the  positions  of  the  foramina 
are  very  typical  of  the  Canidae.  I'he  tympanic  bullae  are  large  and 
expanded.  This  expansion  of  the  tympanic  bullae  has  forced  the 
post-glenoid  foramen  farther  out  along  the  post-glenoid  process  than 
in  most  of  the  Canidae. 

Dental  formula — i‘^  ; c^ ; p^  ; m^. 


1 Matthew,  W.  D.  Unpublished  Plates  of  Tertiary  Mammalia  and  Permian 

Vertebrata.  Plate  CXVHl  Figs.  I-:!. 

2 Ibid,  PI.  CXIXa  Figs.  t-4. 

3 Matthew  and  Cook,  A Pliocene  F'auna  from  Western  Nebraska.  Bull.  Am. 

Mus.  Nat.  Hist.,  Vol.  XXVI,  Art.  XXVIT. 


Gwi 


74 


NEBRASKA  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 


Skull  of  Aelurodon  platyrhinns,  crown  view,  xi. 


17G 


NEBRASKA  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 


Compared  with  Daphaenodon  superbus,  the  skull  is  slightly  longer, 
but  much  wider  and  more  robust.  The  nasals  are  lower  and  broader, 
the  posterior  half  of  the  skull  higher,  the  sides  of  the  crests  higher 
and  more  pronounced,  the  malar  processes  heavier  and  deeper,  espe- 
cially under  the  orbit,  and  the  tympanic  bullae  much  more  expanded. 
The  premolars  are  much  more  robust.  AU  is  about  the  same  size,  but 
differently  proportioned.  is  larger  in  Daphaenodon.  is  absent 
in  this  form,  and  present,  though  not  reduced,  in  Daphaenodon. 

Aelurodon  platyrhinus  is  20%  longer  over  all  than  A.  saevus, 
the  sagittal  crest  more  prominent,  the  lamboidal  crest  extending 
further  backward,  the  occiput  much  more  overhanging  posteriorly, 
the  muzzle  broader,  lower  frontal  bulge  less,  palate  wider,  posterior 
nares  broader  anteriorly,  narrowing  greatly  posteriorly,  pterygoid 
crest  extending  to  or  beyond  the  posterior  opening  of  the  alisphenoid 
canal,  postglenoid  ])rocess  of  the  squamosal  larger,  postglenoid 
foramen  large,  post-tympanic  ])rocess  of  the  periotic  moderately  prom- 
inent, paroccipital  process  of  the  exoccipital  more  prominent  with 
its  direction  rather  backward  ( Daphaenus-like)  than  downward 
( Canis-like) . 


:\tEASUREMEXT 

mm.  inches 

Skull,  length  over  all,  incisors  to  occipital  crest...  260  10.3 


length  incisors  to  condyles 230  9.1 

length,  occipital  crest  to  tip  of  nasals 228  9.0 

• width  across  zygomata 164  6.5 

Talate,  length,  i-"  to  i)ost-narial  border 112  4.4 

length,  i^  to  ]x:)st-naria]  border 116  4 6 

width,  across  lateral  incisors 43  1.7 

width,  across  canines 60  2.3 

width,  across  carnassials 95  3.7 

( )cciput,  height,  condyles  to  occipital  crest 73  2.8 

width  across  post-tympanic  processes 91  3.5 

width,  across  occipital  condyles 43  1.7 


The  incisors  are  graduated  in  size,  enlarging  backward,  in  order. 
The  first  and  second  incisors  have  very  pronounced  accessory  cusps 
on  each  side  of  the  central  cusps.  The  third  incisor  is  quite  large  with 
a prominent  interior  cusp,  and  a serrated  posterior  edge  towards  the 
canine,  composed  of  three  distinct  cusps.  The  canine  is  not  large  and 
is  little  curved,  with  a marked  ridge  (cutting  edge)  running  length- 
wise along  both  the  front  and  back  sides.  The  maxillary  dentition  is 
crowded,  so  that  the  first  three  jiremolars  stand  oliliquely.  is  not 
large  but  is  robust,  with  a marked  cingulum.  and  p^  are  robust 


AELURODON  PLATYRHTNUS 


177 


Fig.  3. — Skull  of  Aelurodon  platyrhinus,  palatine  view,  xi. 


178 


NEBRASKA  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 


with  a small  anterior,  and  tv'o  posterior  cusps.  with  its  well 

developed  parastyle  is  typical  of  Aelurodon. 

i\P  is  constricted  through  the  middle,  anteroposteriorly,  and  both 
inner  and  outer  sides  give  the  appearance  of  having  been  forced  back- 
ward while  the  constricted  center  was  held  in  place.  The  parastyle  is 
vestigeal,  the  paracone  large  and  prominent,  the  metacone  relatively 
smaller,  metastyle  absent,  protocone  reduced,  and  hypocone  well 
developed. 

There  is  conspicuous  development  of  the  lateral  accessory  cusps 
on  the  premolars,  and  especially  on  the  incisors.  These  accessory 
cuspules  are  more  pronounced  and  remarkable  than  in  A.  saevus. 
In  the  case  of  i-^,  the  cuspules  are  most  conspicuous,  there  being 
three  lateral  and  one  anterior. 


Fig.  4. — Incisors  of  Aelurodon  platyrhinus.  natural  size;  a,  outer  surface, 
natural  size:  b.  inner  surface,  natural  size. 


MEASUREyiEXTS 


Diameters 

of  incisor: 

5 measured 

f rom 

base  of  enamel 

at  lateral 

external  ang 

le. 

Anteroposterior 

Transverse 

Height 

mm. 

mm. 

mm. 

Inci.sors  . . . 

• • iC 

6.5 

6.5 

9.5 

i- 

7.1 

8.0 

12.2 

i'^ 

9.5 

10.0 

17.0 

Canine  

14.8 

10.0 

24.2 

Premolars, 

. length  of 

Pi,  2,  3,  in 

alveoli 

anteroposterior. 

measured 

from  base  of 

' enamel  externally,  39 

mm. 

mm. 

mm. 

mm. 

pi 

8.4 

6.2 

7.8 

Premolars  . 

. P^ 

14.0 

7.5 

9.5 

p.3 

16.7 

9.2 

11.0 

Carnassial  . 

. .pi 

27.8 

12.4 

18.0 

Molars  in 

alveoli  1,  2, 

. anteroposterior  25 

1.3  mm. 

mm. 

mm. 

mm. 

Ml 

17.0 

25.5 

11.0 

M2 

8.8 

15.2 

5.2 

AELURODON  PLATYRHINUS 


17'J 


Fig.  5. — Aeliirodon  haydcni,  Sioux  Fig.  6. — Aelurodon  wheelerianus,  Red 
County,  Nebraska.  Miocene.  Modi-  Willow  County.  l\el)raska.  Miocene, 
bed  after  Matthew  and  Cook.  xVs.  Modified  after  Cope  and  Matthew.  x%. 


Fig.  7. — Aelurodon  saevus,  Hitchock  County,  Nebraska.  Upper 
Modibed  after  Cope  and  Matthew.  xVa. 


Miocene. 


Fig.  8. — xAelurodon  saevus.  Palatine  view.  xVs.  Modified  after  Cope  and 
Matthew. 


180 


NEBRASKA  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 


Fig.  11.— Daphaenodon  superbus.  “bear  dog.”  Sioux  County,  Nebraska. 
Lower  Miocene.  Modified  after  Scott. 

The  fauna  of  the  ATlentine  beds,  as  far  as  made  out,  is  as  follows : 
Aelurodon ; Tephrocyon.  sp : Tephyrocyon  cf.  hippophagus ; Pros- 
thenops  sp.  nov. : IMerycodus  necatus ; Dromomeryx;  Palaeomeryx ; 
large  cervid  cf.  Odocoileus,  distinct  from  Palaeomeryx  and  Dromo- 
mervx  ; (?)  Procamelus  robustus  : Procamelus  occidentalis  ; Dipoides 
tortus  ; Mylogaulus  cf . monodon  : Epigaulus  ; Lepus.  sp. ; Aphelops 
brachyodus : Protohippus  perditus ; iMerychippus  calamarius : Mery- 
chippus  insignis ; Hipparion  gratum : Protohippus  cf.  placidus. 

The  University  of  Nebraska  Distributed  April  1?,  1917. 

Lincoln,  Nebraska,  July,  1915. 


Fig.  0. — Daphaenodon  superbus,  Sioux  County,  Nebraska.  Lower  Miocene. 
Modified  after  Peterson.  x%. 


Fig.  JO. — Daphaenodon  superbus,  palatine  view,  yiVs.  Modified  after 
Peterson. 


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